WASHINGTON (AP)--Heavy U.S. B-52 bombers left England on Friday, portending
major nighttime air strikes against Iraq, two U.S. officials said.
One U.S. official involved in military planning said the B-52s had been
scrambled en masse and the air strikes would be bigger than anything seen thus
far in the conflict.
In the early hours of the war, the U.S. launched two rounds of cruise missile
attacks against Baghdad, but sent only two Stealth bombers over the capital
city. The B-52s have played a major role in bombing campaigns dating back to
Vietnam.
The military plans for major air escalation going into the weekend, a second
senior military official said.
(MORE) Dow Jones Newswires
03-21-03 0935ET- - 09 35 AM EST 03-21-03
