After five hours of intense clashes, two US Abrams tanks rolled out of the northern entrance of the compound and took up position on the adjacent Al-Jumhuriya bridge.

Exchanges of fire then broke out with Iraqi forces on the east side of the river for the first time since US armour stormed into the city centre early Monday.

Warplanes raided the massive complex which lies on the west bank of the Tigris river at least twice after fighting inside the compound broke out just before 5:00 a.m. (0100 GMT).

And for the first time a US air force A10 "tank killer" plane also attacked Saddam's main palace in the capital -- the symbol of his 24-year iron-fist rule over the country.

The A10 swooped twice to fire at very low altitude on the northern entrance of the compound and on the planning ministry, just outside the northern gate of the sprawling complex.

It returned to open fire a third time on an area beyond the planning ministry, apparently on a road leading to the information ministry.

The A10 released decoy flares against missiles as it rose in the sky after each pass.

The exchanges of fire moved progressively along the river bank, northward toward the al-Jumhuriya (Republic) bridge where battles were taking place at the compound's northern gates.

Dark smoke was billowing into the sky from several areas within the compound, mainly near the planning ministry, on a roundabout leading to the administrative district where the ministries of information and foreign affairs are located.

An explosion was also heard in the area of the al-Rashid hotel, a landmark in Baghdad, which was believed to have been taken by US troops and around which intensive battles raged on Monday.

The palace clashes erupted after a series of loud explosions followed by intense exchanges of gunfire in the compound, which left a huge fire burning, engulfing vegetation in the grounds.

On Monday, US forces stormed into the heart of Baghdad with tanks and troops, raiding three of Saddam Hussein's presidential palaces while fierce battles raged across the battered Iraqi capital.

At least two Abram tanks, two Bradley armoured vehicles, one military jeep as well as US marines in full combat gear have been seen inside the palace, which has been pounded repeatedly since the US-led coalition launched the war on March 20.

In Washington, a US official said US warplanes on Monday bombed a building in Baghdad where intelligence indicated that Iraqi leaders including Saddam Hussein and his sons may have been staying.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, could not say whether the Iraqi leaders were killed in Monday's attack.

Witnesses reported that at least 14 civilians were killed when a bomb crashed into a residential neighborhood in the Iraqi capital on Monday.

The explosion left a crater eight meters (26 feet) deep and 15 meters wide and destroyed four houses off Ramadan 14th, a main commercial artery in the al-Mansur area, they said.

The Qatar-based Arabic television news network Al-Jazeera said a US missile hit its Baghdad offices Tuesday wounding two staff, one of them seriously.

The station, whose offices stand on the west bank of the Tigris, near the planning ministry, aired footage of an injured cameraman being carried away in a blanket and put into a car belonging to rival network Abu Dhabi television.

SPACE.WIRE