A pall of smoke rises from buildings near military barracks in central Pristina on Thursday RELATED VIDEO CNN's Tom Mintier in Belgrade shows damage near the city from the first round of attacks Windows Media 28K   To view the latest video streams on the strikes in Yugoslavia, use the arrows buttons below to scroll through the video gallery. RELATED AUDIO British Prime Minister Tony Blair backs airstrikes: In support of NATO's decision: 392 K/30 sec. AIFF or WAV sound On the effects of war on Europe and neighboring countries: 456 K/40 sec. AIFF or WAV sound  ALSO Yeltsin to meet with aides on response to bombings KLA goes from splinter group to potential giant-killer Operation Allied Force: Latest developments Clinton calls NATO strikes a 'moral imperative' American might leads NATO operation IMAGE GALLERY: NATO strikes Yugoslavia: Day One  MESSAGE BOARD Crisis in Kosovo

March 25, 1999
Web posted at: 7:50 a.m. EST (1250 GMT)

In this story: In-depth: Strike on Yugoslavia RELATED STORIES, SITES

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (CNN) -- Yugoslav officials said Thursday that NATO airstrikes had killed more than 10 civilians, while NATO's Secretary-General Javier Solana warned that the air campaign could last for days.

"We are now confronted with great damage done to city and factories. (A) great number of civilian casualties -- more than 10 civilians killed, and over 60 civilians who are seriously injured," Yugoslav Federal Minister Goran Matic told CNN.

"About an hour ago, there were new attacks on communication systems, near or in Belgrade itself," he said Thursday about 11 a.m. "Our hospitals and doctors are doing everything they can to help the victims. This is a real truth of what's happening in Yugoslavia," he said.

In Pristina, the provincial capital of Kosovo, Daloni Carlisle of the International Committee of the Red Cross said air raid sirens had gone off and plumes of smoke could be seen northeast of the city Thursday.

Solana told French radio on Thursday that the first phase of the bombing campaign would likely continue "for several days."

The launch of the NATO attacks followed months of diplomatic efforts to secure a peace accord for Kosovo, and came only after eleventh-hour talks between U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke and Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic failed to get Yugoslavia to sign an interim peace proposal.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said early assessments indicate the attacks were successful.

"It's obviously early to say this but from what we have gathered they have been successful," said Blair. "And I'm pleased to say there have been no casualties at all on the NATO side not just in respect to British forces but NATO forces as a whole and that's obviously good news."

Blair said Milosevic can stop the attacks.

"He can stop the action at any time that he wishes to do so by coming back into line with the agreements that he entered into and by stopping the repression of the people in Kosovo."

British Defense Minister George Robertson called the damage to "a lot of significant military targets" throughout Yugoslavia "substantial."

In Moscow, Russian President Boris Yeltsin said that Russia would not take any "extreme measures" in response to the NATO bombing.

He said that, because of the bombing, Russia held a "morally higher position" than the United States.

Yeltsin ordered his Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov to gather ministers from the six-nation Balkan Contact Group in Moscow to search for a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

The Contact Group includes the United States, Russia, Britain, France, Germany and Italy.