Baghdad, where more than 50 civilians were killed when a missile slammed into a market on Friday, has once again come under attack from coalition warplanes.

Several explosions have been heard in the Iraqi capital and the US Central Command in Qatar said a Tomahawk cruise missile has hit the ministry of information.

BBC said the top floors of the building, which is a base for many foreign journalists, have been damaged. Aerials are broken and communication equipment is strewn all over the place, it said.

The Iraqi Information Minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, said the coalition is trying to prevent the world from seeing television pictures of the devastation that the bombs are causing.