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Iraqi television broadcasts an alleged statement from Saddam Hussein, urging Baghdad's residents to fight U.S. forces with their hands if necessary. Hoping to avoid drawn-out urban warfare, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld appeals to Iraqi soldiers to surrender, saying they "can still survive and help to rebuild a free Iraq." NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

The military rescues a U.S. Army prisoner of war in Iraq. The Pentagon confirms that 19-year-old Army Private First Class Jessica Lynch of Palestine, W.Va., has been returned to an allied-controlled area. Lynch was a supply clerk with a convoy that was ambushed on March 23 near the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah. NPR's Nick Spicer reports.

Speaking to Marines at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, President Bush says "a vise is closing" on Saddam Hussein's regime and that the United States "will not stop until Iraq is free." Bush also offers condolences to families of U.S. Marines killed in the war with Iraq. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards, NPR's Christopher Joyce and NPR's Don Gonyea.

Facing fierce Iraqi resistance, U.S. Army troops enter Baghdad from the south, but do not cross the Tigris River into the center of the city. U.S. officials say the three-hour incursion is exercise in psychological warfare; Maj. Gen. Victor Renuart says it is a "clear statement of the ability of the coalition forces to move into Baghdad at a time and place of their choosing." Hear NPR's Tom Gjelten.

The Thursday evening shooting in a downtown area packed with people in bars and restaurants caused scenes of mass panic in the heart of the city. It was the fourth deadly attack in three weeks.

An explosion tears apart a crowded market in a Baghdad neighborhood. Hospital officials estimate more than 50 dead and nearly 50 wounded. Iraqis at the scene claim the source was an American bomb dropped by fighter jets. Hear NPR's Anne Garrels.

Ten days into the war in Iraq, U.S. and British senior commanders insist their war strategy is working. Despite weather and logistics problems, commanders say the air campaign has weakened Saddam Hussein's grip on Iraq, and U.S.-led troops have suffered relatively few casualties. Hear NPR's Mike Shuster.

U.S. and British military commanders prepare for an "extended" war in Iraq. Adjustments in the war plan recognize that Iraqi citizens have not welcomed the invasion, and in some cases are forming counter-insurgency groups. More U.S. troops are on the way to Iraq, and could shift from a support role to a battlefield role. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards and NPR's Steve Inskeep.

Iraq's information minister, reading a statement he said was from Saddam Hussein, calls for a holy war against the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Meanwhile, Iraq's vice president insists the U.S. military has been unable to make progress in its march to Baghdad, and that Iraq has foiled U.S. war plans. Hear NPR's Anne Garrels.

Fierce battles erupt on two fronts in Iraq. About 50 miles south of Baghdad on the Euphrates River, a U.S. Army division seizes the river town of Hindiyah. Farther south, Marines struggle to hold bridges over the Tigris River and move forces north toward Baghdad. Hear NPR's Mike Shuster.