In the battle today, the two sides dueled across the Aswa River with artillery explosions that flushed flocks of white egrets from the shores.

The deep rumble of artillery explosions behind her drew her to slowly turn around.

One man had lost both arms in an artillery explosion and remained in a coma.

Beirut residents hid in their homes or huddled in building basements as the city resounded to artillery explosions and the rattle of rifle fire.

In houses with all four walls still standing, the force of repeated artillery explosions has shaken to the ground the iron roofing tiles, leaving a skeleton of wooden beams.

With electricity cut weeks ago when the fighting began, the deep black night is broken only by the steady, reverberating crump-whump-whump of heavy artillery explosions from the capital, Grozny.

As Mr. Holbrooke spoke with rebel fighters, the sound of distant artillery explosions reverberated in the hills.

No one was hurt in the artillery explosions, but all the families said they would return to the cellar for the rest of the day.

Neuenahr and Schenck continued to fight for him, but the former died in an artillery explosion in 1589, and the latter was killed at Nijmegen that summer.

There was the smell of smoke in the air, and artillery explosions in the distance.