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New US-British air raid on Iraq
Washington, Dec 26: US and British aircraft today attacked an air military communications facility in southern Iraq in retaliation for the downing of an unmanned US spy plane earlier this week.
Washington, Dec 26: US and British aircraft today attacked an air military communications facility in southern Iraq in retaliation for the downing of an unmanned US spy plane earlier this week.
The US central command said the attack with precision-guided weapons came at 1030 IST on the facility near Tallil, about 280 kilometers southeast of Baghdad.
The attack was in retaliation for Monday's downing of the predator spy drone by Iraqi anti-aircraft fire and warplanes which entered the "no-fly" zone over the southern part of the country, the command said in a statement.
"Coalition strikes in the no-fly zones are executed as a self-defense measure in response to Iraqi hostile threats and acts against coalition forces and their aircraft," the statement said.
The air-exclusion zones over northern and southern Iraq set up after the 1990-1991 Gulf War are enforced by US and British air patrols, though Baghdad has long opposed them and they exist without the sanction of a specific UN resolution.
In recent weeks, the patrols have resulted in almost daily clashes with Iraqi air defenses on the ground as Washington and London step up enforcement of the zones ahead of a possible US-led invasion, but air-to-air encounters are rare.
The last US-British strike was Friday, when two air defence communications facilities were bombed in southern Iraq. Bureau Report
The attack was in retaliation for Monday's downing of the predator spy drone by Iraqi anti-aircraft fire and warplanes which entered the "no-fly" zone over the southern part of the country, the command said in a statement.
"Coalition strikes in the no-fly zones are executed as a self-defense measure in response to Iraqi hostile threats and acts against coalition forces and their aircraft," the statement said.
The air-exclusion zones over northern and southern Iraq set up after the 1990-1991 Gulf War are enforced by US and British air patrols, though Baghdad has long opposed them and they exist without the sanction of a specific UN resolution.
In recent weeks, the patrols have resulted in almost daily clashes with Iraqi air defenses on the ground as Washington and London step up enforcement of the zones ahead of a possible US-led invasion, but air-to-air encounters are rare.
The last US-British strike was Friday, when two air defence communications facilities were bombed in southern Iraq. Bureau Report