You will be victorious against your enemies," Saddam said in his address to the nation, adding "We will resist the invaders".

BAGHDAD, March 20 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Iraqi President Saddam Hussein on Thursday, March 20, called on Iraqis to resist, vowing victory will be theirs just hours after the United States unleashed war.

"You will be victorious against your enemies," Saddam said in his address to the nation, adding "We will resist the invaders."

Wearing a military uniform and black beret, he blasted the cowardly aggression after the United States launched air strikes over Baghdad.

It was not clear if the less-than-10-minute address broadcast by his son Uday's Youth television was live or pre-recorded, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

Saddam, reading slowly from papers, began by saying there "was no need to remind Iraqis what to do and what not to in the face of the attack."

"In any event you will be victorious over your enemies who are covered in opprobrium and ignominy," he said.

The Iraqi leader quoted classical Arab poetry boasting the heroism of Arabs before concluding that Iraq will emerge victorious.

The United States this week said that 45 countries support military action against Saddam's regime but 15 of them refused to be named publicly.

Washington and London have insisted Iraq has active chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs, and Bush said there was no more time to wait before taking action.

"Now that conflict has come, the only way to limit its duration is to apply decisive force. And I assure you, this will not be a campaign of half measures and we will accept no outcome but victory," Bush said.

Qatari satellite network Al-Jazeera television reported that the main northern city of Mosul was quiet after the first attacks.

Flagrant Aggression

Meanwhile, Iraqi Information Minister Mohamed Saeed al-Sahhaf denounced Thursday's U.S. strikes on Baghdad as a flagrant aggression.

"It's a flagrant aggression," he said, branding U.S. and British forces which took part in the opening air assault of Washington's war as criminals and mercenaries.

"The war will be difficult and will finish in defeat for the Americans," Sahhaf predicted.

"The President is on duty," he said at a press conference when asked where Saddam Hussein was.

Sahhaf also said that all journalists and anchors would be given a free hand to tour the country to expose the grave repercussions of U.S.-led strikes.

Bush said in an earlier address to his nation that the strikes against the Iraqi capital marking the start of war.

"On my orders, coalition forces have begun striking selected targets of military importance to undermine Saddam Hussein's ability to wage war," Bush said in a televised address, shortly after the first explosions rocked the pre-dawn sky over Baghdad.