US aircraft have bombed a residential area of Iraq - hitting a "leadership target".

It's not known whether Saddam Hussein was in the area at the time.

This morning, American troops have remained at their positions in the centre of Baghdad - where a sustained battle is taking place.

Machine gun fire and several large explosions have been heard around the US troops this morning.

US tanks in Baghdad

Air Marshal Sir Timothy Garden has been analysing the latest developments on Breakfast.

Sir Tim said that American troops are likely now to be targets as they stand their ground at a presidential palace in Baghdad.

And they will continue to be vulnerable to Iraqi fire - particularly as some Iraqi troops are without any leadership.

They do need to discover where Saddam and his immediate senior management are located - and they may be underground.

He said that the eventual aim of the troops would be to secure their hold in the city - but warned that that process would take time.

None of the city, he said, could be described as being under American control yet.

Click here to see Sir Timothy's analysis of the situation

John Peters, the former RAF pilot who was shot down and taken prisoner during the last Gulf war is also in the studio this morning.

John Peters said that technology had improved immensely since he served in the Gulf.

Bombs, he said, are getting smaller - the explosions don't need to be so big because they're hitting their targets more effectively than ever before.

Former POW John Peters

Even during the first Gulf war though, John Peters said that he saw for himself how accurate the bombs could be. Then, for example, an allied bomb was able to pick out a radio tower in the middle some apartment blocks.

Now, he said he's sure that the bombs are even more able to pick out the exact target that they want.

Click here to see our interview with John Peters