A plume of smoke rose into the air after a missile or smart bomb crashed into the heart of the compound on the 13th day of the war around 9 am.

Baghdadis however continued to move around the city as they have throughout the conflict.

After a night of relative calm, heavy bombing resumed around 10:10 amon the southern outskirts of Baghdad, the reporter added.

The sprawling palace grounds, a potent symbol of President Saddam Hussein's grip on power, has been a frequent target of the bombardments and was struck twice on Monday.

During the afternoon a warplane buzzed the compound, the largest of eight presidential palaces in the capital, and launched a missile which was followed by two more strikes in the evening.

Around a dozen missiles had struck the Iraqi capital overnight.

The US Central Command said in a statement that coalition forces had used "precision-guided munitions to target a regime office complex in eastern Baghdad" at around 11:30 pm (1930 GMT) on Monday.

The office complex served as an office location for regime leaders and housed the youth ministry and the Iraqi National Olympic Committee, chaired by Saddam's elder son Uday, Centcom said.

"The strike was executed to erode the command and control capabilities of regime leaders," it said, adding that battle assessment was ongoing.

WAR.WIRE