Fighting In The Gulf Region

Less than 19 hours after time ran out on a U.N.-mandated deadline for Irag to withdraw from Kuwait, British Tornadoes, French Jaguars, and U.S. Wild Weasels, F-111s, F-15s and F-18s streaked across a desert sky.

About 90 minutes later, flashes of anti-aircraft fire lit up the sky in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad as allied warplanes began their strikes.

The precise sequence of events remained sketchy, but at least 1,000 sorties were made in the first 14 hours of the operation with 80% reportedly reaching their objectives. Some eyewitnesses, however, said the bombing left downtown Baghdad largely unscarred.

The U.S. said its initial prime targets were Iraqi command and control centers and that chemical and nuclear plants also were targeted.

About six hours later, U.S. and allied fighter jets began a second 600-mile, 90-minute journey from Bahrain to targets in Iraq. Later, allied ground forces were reportedly moving north to take up positions closer to the Kuwaiti border.

By Thursday afternoon, wave upon wave of jets flew north to inflict continuing punishment on Iraqi troops, command centers and other strategic targets.

Then, early Friday morning, air-raid sirens in Israel wailed as missiles hit. A Pentagon official said he believed they were Scuds, ground-to-ground missile.

Targets Hit

According to the Republican staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, these are the sites struck in early sorties. Saad 16: missiles, chemical weapons and nuclear materials

Salman Pak: biological weapons and possible chemical weapons

Al-Qaim: uranium processing, possible chemical weapons

Baghdad: biological weapons

Tawaitha: nuclear material

Ibril: nuvlear testing

Akashat: chemical weapons

Al-Dour or Saad 13:, military electronics

H-2: missile site

H-3: aircraft and staging area for troops

Samarra: chemical and biological weapons

All-Fallujah: chemical weapons.