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Iraqi President Saddam Hussein on Sunday chaired a meeting attended by his two sons and other high-ranking military officers as explosions jolted the capital Baghdad early Sunday after a relatively quiet night.
The meeting was also attended by Defense Minister Sultan Hashem Ahmed and other army commanders.
Meanwhile, Saddam signed a decree granting two Iraqi women the highest honor medals of the Decoration of Umm al-Maarek or the Mother of All Battles, and the Wisam al-Rafidain, or Order of the Two Rivers.
The two women blew themselves up when a car bomb exploded near a coalition checkpoint Thursday evening near the Haditha Dam northwest of Baghdad, killing three coalition soldiers.
President Saddam also awarded 10 Bravery medals to the family members of the two women, respectively, and 50 million Iraqi dinars (US$25,000) to each family.
In another development, Iraqi forces are exchanging fire with US and British forces in different parts of the outskirts of Baghdad on Sunday. US and British troops were pushed back to their positions 40 to 50 kilometers away from Baghdad.
Artillery fire was also heard in southwestern Baghdad, said witnesses.
A 10-year-old boy was killed Sunday when a missile hit a bakery in Baghdad.
(Xinhua News Agency April 6, 2003)
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