A plume of black smoke rose from the Republican Palace complex on the banks of the Tigris river just after 1:30 pm (1030 GMT) after a coalition missile or "smart bomb" hit one of the buildings at the site.

The same compound, a potent symbol of Saddam Hussein's 24-year grip on power, came under intensive attack from coalition bombs at about 3:05 amWednesday, some 10 minutes after a bridge in the east of the city was under fire in the latest air raids by the US-led forces.

Intensive bombardment at about 5 pm local time (1400 GMT) sent plumes of smoke rising from several parts of the Iraqi capital, an AFP journalist reported.

It was not immediately clear if the latest raid had targeted the Republican Palace complex.

US Central Command said coalition forces had targeted the Baghdad Presidential Bunker and Residence in the Republican Palace district and the New Presidential Palace in the Al-Khark section west of the Tigris using precision-guided munitions in early-morning raids.

"The coalition struck the facilities to disrupt regime leadership's ability to command and control Iraqi military forces," Centcom said in a statement issued from Doha, adding that assessment of the strikes' effectiveness was ongoing.

A series of explosions were also heard at about 6:50 am (0350 GMT) in the southern outskirts of the capital, where much of the early coalition firepower had been directed on Wednesday, an AFP reporter said.

Iraqi defense forces, including the Republican Guard, are concentrated in the southern outskirts, preparing to repel a ground attack by US-led troops.

The southern rim came under heavy sustained bombardment again shortly after nightfall.

Before 9:30 am (0630 GMT), the western and northwestern edge of the city had suffered a pounding. A huge cloud of smoke covered the sector.

It was not immediately clear to reporters near the scene how many bombs hit the presidential palace nor what damage was done.

The southern outskirts of Baghdad were pounded by an especially intense bombardment on Tuesday that sent balls of fire and towers of black smoke into the sky.

SPACE.WIRE