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Allies bomb air defense sites in southern Iraq no-fly zone
Washington, Oct 23: Allied planes bombed two military air defense sites in the southern no-fly zone over Iraq today in the third round of strikes in a week, defense officials said.
Washington, Oct 23: Allied planes bombed two military air defense sites in the southern no-fly zone over Iraq today in the third round of strikes in a week, defense officials
said.
The bombing brought to 52 the number of days this year that such strikes were reported by the US and the UK coalition, whose mission is to patrol two zones set up to protect Iraqi minorities following the 1991 Gulf War. Coalition aircraft used precision-guided weapons to target an air defense communications facility near al Jarrah, 145 km southeast of Baghdad, and an air defense operations center near Tallil, 260 km southeast of Baghdad, said a statement from the US Central Command.
The strikes were launched early today morning after Iraqis fired anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles at coalition aircraft doing patrols, the statement said. It said damage assessment was incomplete. Iraq considers the patrols a violation of its sovereignty and frequently shoots at the patrols run in the southern zone by the Central Command and in the northern no-fly zone by the US European Command. In response, coalition pilots try to bomb Iraqi air defenses.
The hostilities have been going on for years but are being watched more closely since the Bush administration has vowed to oust President Saddam's Hussein's regime. The Pentagon has also changed its targeting in recent months, not necessarily hitting back at facilities from which the hostilities originate, but rather planning strikes that will do the most to cripple Iraq air defenses. Bureau Report
The bombing brought to 52 the number of days this year that such strikes were reported by the US and the UK coalition, whose mission is to patrol two zones set up to protect Iraqi minorities following the 1991 Gulf War. Coalition aircraft used precision-guided weapons to target an air defense communications facility near al Jarrah, 145 km southeast of Baghdad, and an air defense operations center near Tallil, 260 km southeast of Baghdad, said a statement from the US Central Command.
The strikes were launched early today morning after Iraqis fired anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles at coalition aircraft doing patrols, the statement said. It said damage assessment was incomplete. Iraq considers the patrols a violation of its sovereignty and frequently shoots at the patrols run in the southern zone by the Central Command and in the northern no-fly zone by the US European Command. In response, coalition pilots try to bomb Iraqi air defenses.
The hostilities have been going on for years but are being watched more closely since the Bush administration has vowed to oust President Saddam's Hussein's regime. The Pentagon has also changed its targeting in recent months, not necessarily hitting back at facilities from which the hostilities originate, but rather planning strikes that will do the most to cripple Iraq air defenses. Bureau Report