Strikes continue in Montenegro and Serbia Saturday
RELATED VIDEO: Jesse Jackson news conference (May 1) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K CNN's Walter Rodgers reports that three U.S.soldiers will be released after a month in Yugoslav custody (May 1) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K NATO spokesman Peter Daniel reports on strikes on Yugoslavia (May 1) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K Col. Konrad Freytag reports on NATO's military strikes against Yugoslavia (May 1) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K To view the latest video streams on the strikes in Kosovo, use the arrow buttons below to scroll through the video gallery.        Windows Media Real        28 K 80 K IMAGE GALLERY: The Kosovo refugees Images of NATO bomb attack on Serbian TV headquarters The Serbs and Kosovo  THE DELUGE OF REFUGEES: Where are they going?  ALSO: NATO strike hits bus; 34 civilians reportedly killed  MESSAGE BOARD: Crisis in Kosovo  MAPS: NATO officials describe the air campaign  IN-DEPTH SPECIAL: NATO at 50 Strike on Yugoslavia

May 1, 1999
Web posted at: 11:01 p.m. EDT (0301 GMT)

In this story: NATO says bombing will continue Soldiers' families await their return Will NATO release two Yugoslav soldiers? Milosevic wants to meet with Clinton U.S. embargo to cut off Serbia's oil Alliance confirms commuter bus hit RELATED STORIES, SITES

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (CNN) -- NATO airstrikes hit central Serbia Saturday, hours after the Yugoslav government announced it would free three U.S. soldiers held in captivity.

Serb TV said Saturday evening that the town of Cacak was hit by at least six missiles. Earlier in the day Yugoslavia said it planned to release the captured men Sunday morning as a "gesture of good will," according to Yugoslavia's Foreign Ministry.

The soldiers will be turned over to the custody of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who headed a religious delegation to Belgrade in an attempt to secure their release, Foreign Ministry spokesman Nebojsa Vujovic told CNN.

"We did not consider three American soldiers as enemies, rather as the victims of war and militarism," said Vujovic, whose government said Friday it would not release them.

Yugoslavia plans to release the soldiers around 8 a.m. (2 a.m. EST). They could accompany Jackson and the group of clergy in a car caravan to Croatia, and then travel to a NATO military base in Germany. But details remain unclear.

Jackson, talking to reporters in Belgrade Saturday, said, "This is a material breakthrough. It's a gesture that should not go ignored."

He urged NATO to respond to the good will gesture by temporarily halting its air assault against Yugoslavia.

NATO says bombing will continue

Alliance officials said the bombing of Yugoslavia will continue. And hours after the announcement of the planned prisoner release, air raid sirens again sounded in Belgrade.

NATO officials maintain that Belgrade must accept NATO conditions before the 19-member organization ceases its air campaign.

Friday, NATO rejected a seven-point peace plan that Yugoslavia submitted to Russia, a longtime ally of Serbia. Russia has sought to end the crisis through diplomatic proposals.

Soldiers' families await their return

Staff Sgt. Andrew Ramirez, 24, of Los Angeles; Staff Sgt. Christopher Stone, 25, of Smiths Creek, Michigan; and Spc. Steven Gonzales, 22, of Huntsville, Texas, were taken into custody in late March along the Yugoslav-Macedonian border.

Ramirez' mother Vivian told reporters in Los Angeles, "The first thing I'm going to do is cry when I see him. Then I'm going to hug him and kiss him. I'm not going to let go."

In suburban Detroit, Jim McCrone, a spokesman for the family of Christopher Stone, said the family was "very excited" about the pending release and was "watching closely all the reports."

Added Gonzales' mother, Rosie Gonzales, "It's still shocking to actually hear that that will happen. We are just overwhelmed emotionally right at the moment."

Will NATO release two Yugoslavian soldiers?

In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon said of the Yugoslav announcement of the prisoner release: "If it's true, it would be good news."

Yet Pentagon officials said it was too early to consider a reciprocal release of two Yugoslavian soldiers detained by NATO.

One of the soldiers is possibly cooperating with an investigation into war crimes against Yugoslavian officials and may not want to be released, according to the Pentagon.

The two were taken prisoner by Kosovar rebels. One was turned over to the U.S. military and another, captured within the last two days, remains in NATO custody, Bacon said.

Milosevic wants to meet with Clinton

When Jackson returns to the United States, he is expected to bring a letter from Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to President Clinton, outlining Milosevic's views on ending the conflict.

Jackson said the letter will express Milosevic's desire to meet with President Clinton in an effort to resolve the crisis.

The Clinton administration, which had not sanctioned the trip headed by Jackson, has not commented on the prisoner release.

But National Security Adviser Sandy Berger told Jackson the United States would view the release as a "positive development," White House sources told CNN.

U.S. embargo to cut off Serbia's oil

Earlier Saturday, Clinton ordered a U.S. trade embargo against Serbia, said a White House official.

The order represents a unilateral move to cut off oil and other supplies to Yugoslavia, National Security Council spokesman David Leavy said.

"As we continue to intensify the air campaign, this is another step in tightening the noose around Milosevic's war machine," he said.

Taking advantage of good weather, NATO conducted its largest airstrike campaign Friday night and Saturday morning, the Pentagon said.

Alliance aircraft flew more than 600 sorties, hitting between 70 and 82 targets. A number of key bridges, radio transmission towers and control buildings, petroleum plants and other targets were hit, said NATO spokesman Peter Daniel.

Alliance confirms commuter bus hit

A NATO warplane accidentally hit a bus crossing a bridge near Luzane north of Pristina, an alliance statement said.

NATO accepted responsibility for an attack on a bus that killed civilians

Yugoslavia's state-run media and witnesses had reported that a NATO missile struck a civilian bus Saturday on a bridge north of Kosovo's capital Pristina, killing at least 34 people. The Tanjug news agency said the missile cut the vehicle in two, sending part of it plunging off the bridge.

NATO began the airstrikes March 24 to compel the Serbian- dominated Yugoslav federation to accept an internationally brokered peace accord.

The NATO-sanctioned plan is meant to resolve civil conflict in the Serbian province of Kosovo between separatist ethnic Albanians and Serbian forces.

Correspondents Walter Rodgers, Alessio Vinci, David Ensor and Chris Black contributed to this report.

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