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Anti-aircraft fire fills the night sky over Baghdad early Thursday

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- U.S. and British forces launched a "strong, sustained" series of airstrikes against Iraq early Thursday, targeting military and security installations throughout the country, U.S. President Bill Clinton said.

Iraqi officials said one missile landed in a residential neighborhood, and they claimed at least two people died and 30 were injured in the attack. They invited a CNN camera crew to a Baghdad hospital, where several people appeared to be severely burned.

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein ordered the Iraqi people to defend their country.

In a statement carried by the official Iraqi News Agency, he said, "Wicked people bombarded several targets on the soil of your great Iraq, thinking that they will twist your great will and your determination. Resist and fight them as we have always done. God gives you victory, and disgrace will be theirs."

Pentagon sources said about 200 cruise missiles were fired from ships and manned fighter bombers in the first wave of what will be an "open-ended" attack, designed to degrade Iraq's ability to produce nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

Anti-aircraft guns first blasted into the night sky over Baghdad at about 1 a.m. local time (5 p.m. EST Wednesday), as explosions thundered in the distance. CNN Senior International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour reported seeing smoke and orange plumes of flames in parts of the city. Similar attacks were seen sporadically through the night.

Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday it had received reports that a missile had landed in southern Iran apparently linked to the U.S. and British military attack on Iraq.

A spokesman says the ministry had summoned the ambassador of Switzerland, which represents U.S. interests in Iran, and the British charge d'affaires to demand an explanation, according to Reuters. The spokesman did not have any details.

ALSO: World reaction: China condemns, Germany, Japan back use of force Clinton: Iraq has abused its final chance Transcript Pentagon unveils details of Operation Desert Fox Blair: Saddam Hussein a 'serial breaker of promises' Transcript Statement of Saddam Hussein to Iraqi people
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Iranian officials reported that a missile hit the southern Iranian city of Khoramshahr near the border with Iraq. It caused damage and panic in the city, but no injuries or deaths were reported.

Officials believe the missile had probably hit the town by mistake because it's near the Iraqi city of Basra.

U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said the attacks were not designed to "get Saddam Hussein." But she said the United States would step up its contacts with opposition groups and "work with them in a sustained way."

Clinton accused Hussein of failing to live up to his commitment to allow unrestricted access to U.N. weapons inspectors.

"We had to act, and act now," he said in a televised address.

"Saddam Hussein must not be allowed to threaten his neighbors with nuclear weapons, poison gas or biological weapons," Clinton said from the Oval Office. Clinton said he decided weeks ago to give Hussein one last chance to cooperate. But he said U.N. chief weapons inspector Richard Butler reported that Iraq had failed to cooperate -- and had in fact placed new restrictions on weapons inspectors.

"Saddam's deception has defeated their effectiveness," Clinton said. "Instead of the inspectors disarming Saddam, Saddam has disarmed the inspectors."

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the attack, named Operation Desert Fox, was necessary because Hussein never intended to abide by his pledge to give unconditional access to U.N. inspectors trying to determine if Iraq has dismantled its biological, chemical and nuclear weapons programs.

"He is a serial breaker of promises," Blair said of the Iraqi president.

Speaking outside his Downing Street residence, Blair said Britain had no quarrel with the Iraqi people and was taking every possible care to avoid civilian casualties.

The U.N. Security Council held a special debate Wednesday evening on the military action. Diplomats said the meeting of the 15-nation council would enable members to voice their views on the crisis, but no council action was expected in the form of a resolution or other decision.

Iraq's Ambassador to the U.N., Nizar Hamdoon, asked the council "to fulfill its responsibilities as set forth in the U.N. Charter and request the immediate unconditional cessation of what is under way in Iraq."

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed regret the standoff had not been resolved diplomatically.

"This is a sad day for the United Nations and for the world," he said.

"However daunting the task, the United Nations had to try, as long as any hope of peace remained. I deeply regret that today these efforts have proved insufficient."

Western leaders had conferred about possible military action against Iraq since late Tuesday, when Butler handed over his latest report to Annan.

Clinton and Blair had discussed the latest crisis during a phone conversation on Tuesday.

Early Wednesday, British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook had warned Iraq that military strikes could come quickly and without warning.

A badly burned man rests in a Baghdad hospital
Iraqi officials claim a water main in Baghdad was damaged

The attacks took place at a critical moment in U.S. politics, less than 24 hours before the scheduled start of a historic debate in the House of Representatives on impeachment of Clinton over his actions stemming from an affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

House Speaker-elect Bob Livingston said Wednesday night that floor debate and any vote on whether Clinton should be impeached must be delayed because of the U.S. attack on Iraq.

House Republican Leader Dick Armey said suspicions about Clinton's motives in ordering strikes against Iraq showed he was losing the ability to lead the nation.

"I would like to think that no American president would even consider using the military to help him remain in office," Armey said in a statement. "But the fact that Americans are expressing these doubts shows that the president is losing his ability to lead."

Kuwait early Thursday raised the level of military alert for some of its units as a precaution against possible threats from former occupier Iraq, the Defense Ministry said.

The United States ordered the departure of pregnant women, dependents and others under 18 and over 65 from the embassies in Tel Aviv and Kuwait and the consulate in Jerusalem, U.S. officials said Wednesday.

On November 11, during the last crisis with Iraq, the State Department authorized the departure of dependents and non-emergency personnel from these same posts, meaning it would permit and pay for them to leave the area.

The new announcement would actually require the stipulated groups to depart. In addition, U.S. officials said they were renewing their caution against Americans traveling abroad.

Butler's report discussed events that had taken place since mid-November, when Baghdad last agreed to cooperate fully with U.N. Special Commission (UNSCOM) inspectors.

"Iraq's conduct ensured that no progress was able to be made in either the fields of disarmament or accounting for its prohibited weapons programs," the report said.

Butler late Tuesday ordered UNSCOM staff out of Baghdad. The entire staff was evacuated before dawn on Wednesday.

"I regret that I had to report the facts yesterday, which is that (unfettered access) had not been given, and we can't adequately do our jobs under these circumstances," Butler told reporters at the United Nations on Wednesday.

"It made logical sense therefore to pull our people out, and we'll see where this goes in the future," he added.

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The military strikes -- which came at night -- followed a roughly 14-month period during which Baghdad officials periodically said they would no longer cooperate with the weapons inspectors.

During that time, Baghdad also repeatedly demanded that crippling international sanctions, imposed after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait prior to the Gulf War, be lifted.

The most recent escalation in the ongoing weapons standoff came in early November.

At that time, Western powers threatened military strikes against Iraq. The threat was removed on November 14, when Baghdad agreed to cooperate fully with the weapons inspectors.

But, U.S. and British officials warned Baghdad that future airstrikes could come without warning should Iraqi leadership again refuse to cooperate with UNSCOM.

To back up their threat, Western powers left in place the military might they had positioned in the Persian Gulf, within striking distance of Iraq.

It was that military weaponry that was used on Thursday to conduct the strikes against Iraq.

CNN's Christiane Amanpour, Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.