Stealth fighters took off for the city from their Qatar airbase, loaded with smart bombs, flying at medium altitude.
Minutes before the call to prayer, Iraqi people were woken by the sound of wailing sirens. As the jets roared overhead, Iraqi anti-aircraft batteries opened up.
The order to fire had been given by President Bush an hour and a half before the deadline.
Intelligence from the CIA had claimed that Saddam Hussein and four of his senior officials - possibly his two sons, were in just an ordinary house, not a fortified bunker in southern Baghdad.
That's where the first strikes fell, in the outskirts to the south of the city. Explosions were seen and heard from the ministry of information in the city centre.
Two and a half hours later a brief all-clear was sounded, but minutes later the sirens wailed again. This time the attack was on the Doura area of the city.
Doura, a south-eastern suburb of Baghdad, has an oil refinery. It's yet to be confirmed if this was the target or if it was hit. – In fact information about the raids from the American command has been vague so far.
As the all clear was sounded again, people ventured out onto the streets to see what damage had been done. The reaction to the raid was defiant.
At a press conference later this morning, the Iraqi information minister said one person had been killed in the civilian suburbs during the attacks, but that the other strikes had hit nothing but empty media and customs buildings.
Protests
As soon as news came through that military action had begun, protests kicked off across the globe. First in Australia and Asia, then here in the UK.
Children from schools across London walked out of lessons this morning to begin a day-long protest outside parliament.
Anti war groups are expecting thousands more to join the protests later.
The bombing has enflamed opinion outside Britain too. Students in the Philippines banned from the American embassy instead vented their indignation at its president.
In Italy public employees have gone on strike in protest. Thousands will march on the US embassy in Rome later.
Japanese protesters scuffled with police outside the embassy in Tokyo.
British demonstrators are calling today a "day of shame" - the numbers outside parliament growing with every hour.
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