Opening salvo: the Dora Farms strike
11:55 PM
2003 Iraq War: The early morning of March 19, 2003, U.S. forces abandoned the plan for initial, non-nuclear decapitation strikes against fifty-five top Iraqi officials, in light of reports that Saddam Hussein was visiting his daughters and sons, Uday and Qusay at Dora Farms, within the al-Dora farming community on the outskirts of Baghdad. At approximately 05:30 UTC two F-117 Nighthawks from the 8th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron dropped four enhanced, satellite-guided 2,000-pound Bunker Busters GBU-27 on the compound. Complementing the aerial bombardment were nearly 40 Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from at least four ships, including the Arleigh Burke class destroyer, the USS Donald Cook, and two submarines in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf.
One missed the compound entirely and the other three missed their target landing on the other side of the wall of the palace compound. Saddam Hussein was not present nor were any members of the Iraqi leadership or Hussein family. The attack killed one civilian and injured fourteen others, including nine women and one child. Later investigation revealed that Saddam Hussein had not visited the farm since 1995.