Iraq launched missile attacks on Saudi Arabia Sunday and early Monday and paraded on television what Iraqi officials identified as seven captured allied airmen, including three Americans.
Cable News Network reported from Baghdad the captured men were wearing their uniforms during a videotaped interrogation. One had a bandaged hand and two others appeared to have facial bruises.
Meanwhile, a defiant Saddam Hussein said he had yet to unleash the bulk of his forces against a massive U.S.-led attack.
In the first assault on Saudi Arabia Sunday night, the Pentagon said Iraq launched three Scud missiles toward the eastern part of the country. Pentagon spokesman Pete Williams said the rockets were destroyed by three of five Patriot air defense missiles fired by U.S. forces.
Several hours later, seven more Scud missiles were launched, Air Force Lt. Col. Mike Gallagher said at a Riyadh briefing Monday morning. He said four were lobbed at Riyadh, two at Dhahran and one in the waters off Dhahran.
''Six of the Scuds were shot down by Patriot missiles. The Scud missile landing in the water did not require engagement,'' Gallagher said. ''We have no reports yet of damage or injury.''
He could not provide an explanation of a crater in Riyadh that reporters said they saw after the missile attacks.
To date, all Scud attacks have involved high-explosive conventional warheads, not chemically tipped warheads, the spokesman said.
During the day Sunday, President Bush, at Camp David, Md., for the weekend, spoke by phone with Saudi King Fahd, British Prime Minister John Major, French President Francois Mitterrand and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the White House said.
''He called to give them an update on the situation on Desert Storm and to consult with them on the situation in the Gulf,'' said assistant press secretary Bill Harlow. The White House did not elaborate further on the president's phone conversations with the foreign leaders.
Allied warplanes, meanwhile, pounded Iraqi targets. U.S. officials urged Iraqi soldiers on the border to lay down their arms and surrender before a bloody ground war is mounted.
U.S. combat casualties, most of them listed as missing in action, stood at 14, the Pentagon said. A total of eight U.S. warplanes had been shot down and another was lost because of mechanical problems. In addition, two GIs died accidentally when their bunker collapsed in Saudi Arabia.
CNN reported from Baghdad the captured men, who also included two British flyers, and Italian and an Kuwaiti, were shown in their uniforms against a white wall and appeared somber.
The three Americans were identified as Lt. Col. Clifford M. Acree, 39; CWO Guy L. Hunter, 46; and Lt. Jeffrey N. Zaun, 28. All three had been listed by the Pentagon as missing in action.
Hunter was quoted as saying, ''The war was crazy. ... I condemn the aggression against peaceful Iraq. ''
An uncle of Zaun, watching CNN's airing of Iraqi interviews with the captured men, said he was fairly sure he recognized his nephew's voice.
In a brief radio address broadcast Sunday, Saddam called on Arabs and Muslims to wage a holy war against Iraq's enemies.
''So far we have used only a small part of our forces,'' Saddam said. ''The tyrant's missiles and aircraft are being destroyed.''
''The allied forces led by the United States thought that the war would only last a few days, but on the fourth day since the fighting started these allied forces have to rethink the situation,'' he said.
During the first Scud attack Sunday, United Press International reporter Jonathan Ferziger reported hearing ''a big blast'' in what may have been in either downtown Dhahran or in nearby Khobar on the gulf. Other witnesses reported hearing three explosions.
There were no reports of injuries.
''They (Scuds) got near Dhahran and we shot them ... down,'' Williams said. The Pentagon spokesman said he had no reason to believe that the missiles contained anything but conventional warheads.
An all clear was sounded at 10:15 p.m.
Meanwhile, Pentagon sources said Navy officials readied orders to rush a seventh aircraft carrier, the USS Forrestal, to the eastern Mediterranean for war duty.
The Forrestal would cruise off Israel, where U.S. troops have just set up Patriot air defense missiles to help guard against attacks by Iraqi Scud missiles, the sources said. Carriers normally in the Mediterranean were shifted earlier into the Red Sea earlier.
Although the Forrestal would have no role in protecting against Scuds, its aircraft could provide assistance to the vaunted Israeli air force were Iraq to attempt to send its warplanes against Israel.
Elements of the 82nd Airborne Division -- parts of which parachuted into Panama one year ago -- and the Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne Division were moving to forward positions Sunday near the northern frontier that separates Saudi Arabia from Iraq and occupied Kuwait.
''We are repositioning in an assembly area north along the border to conduct offensive operations if we are told,'' Col. Ron Rokosz, commander of the 82nd Airborne's 2nd Brigade, said.
''I'm glad we're here,'' said Capt. Gary Schamberg, 34, from St. Louis, Mo.
''I'm not saying it's a cakewalk but we're kind of looking forward to it,'' Schamberg said. ''I don't think it'll be as bad as we thought.''
American military crews manned Patriot missiles Sunday in Israel against anticipated Iraqi rocket attacks.
It was the first time that U.S. crews were deployed in Israel in the defense of the Jewish state.
A batch of 72 Patriot missiles and 92 U.S. crewmen were rushed to Israel after Iraq fired four Scud missiles into the Tel Aviv area Saturday, the second time in as many days. About 15 civilians were injured, none seriously.
Deputy Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger flew to Israel at President Bush's direction ''to discuss the situation there, particularly in light of the Scud missile attacks,'' the White House said.
In another development, Iraq reported Sunday allied bombers had struck Saddam's home town but boasted that gunners downed 12 more allied warplanes during overnight raids.
The Pentagon said U.S. forces captured 23 Iraqi soldiers in a weekend assault against fortified oil platforms in the Persian Gulf. They were taken to Marine installation in northeast Saudi Arabia for interrogation and medical care. Four Iraqis were reported killed.
At a briefing in Riyadh, headquarters of the Central Command, Lt. Col. Greg Pepin detailed the day's statistics and the commander, Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, declared that bombing is taking a heavy toll on Iraq's air defenses.
Schwarzkopf said Iraq's chemical and nuclear facilities had suffered ''a considerable setback, if not a total setback.''
''I think the campaign is unfolding just about as we had expected, except for the very nice surprise that we haven't taken many casualties, '' Schwarzkopf said.
But he cautioned in an ABC interview that ''we should be very cautious'' about becoming overly optimistic, given the large numbers of ground forces. He said it was ''too early to tell'' if an air war alone would force Iraq from Kuwait.
In just four days coalition aircraft have flown more than 7,000 combat missions, Pepin said.
In eastern Saudi Arabia, on a stretch of cold dirt laced with cow dung, PFC William Ryder and Lance Cpl. Bruce Mallard scooped out foxholes as allied jets roared overhead.
''It's getting scarier the closer we get,'' said Ryder, 20, of Fresno, Calif. The young Marine nervously checked out his M-60 machine gun.
''You really don't get much sleep, you just sit in your hole wondering,'' said Mallard, 20, of Gainesville, Fla.
''Everyone's hoping the air strikes will take out most of the Iraqis and we won't see much resistance,'' said Lance Cpl. Corey McDaniel, 21. But none of us really believe it.''
