Ottawa, Jan 28: Iraq would not seek to attack targets on the US mainland if Washington launched an invasion but Baghdad might strike at Kuwait, Iraqi deputy prime minister Tareq Aziz told Canada's CBC Television.

Last week, one of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's sons said the suicide attacks of Sept. 11 would ''be a picnic compared with what would happen to America'' if US troops invaded.
When asked whether this meant Baghdad would try to launch some kind of attack on the US mainland, Aziz yesterday said, ''No, it doesn't, because we don't have the means and we don't have the wish to make any mischief to the United States inside the United States.''

But Aziz said that he could not rule out an Iraqi strike on kuwait if US troops crossed over from there into Iraq. The United States has launched a massive military buildup in the Gulf region ahead of a possible war to disarm Iraq of alleged illegal weapons.

''Kuwait is a battlefield and American troops are in Kuwait and preparing themselves to attack Iraq. If there will be an attack from Kuwait I cannot say that we will not retaliate. We will of course retaliate against the American troops wherever they start their aggression on Iraq. This is legitimate,'' he said in an interview in Baghdad.
Bureau Report