Coalition planes strike Iraqi air defence systems

Washington, Feb 16: Warplanes with the US-British coalition patrolling southern Iraq struck two Iraqi mobile anti-aicraft missile launchers because they had assumed a threatening position, the US military announced.

The strike, which occurred on Saturday, targeted the surface-to-air missile sites located near the city of Basra, according to the Central Command.

"The coalition executed today's strike after Iraqi forces moved the mobile surface-to-air missile system into the southern no-fly zone," the command said in a tatement. "The facility's presence in the no-fly zone was a threat to coalition aircraft."

Damage assessment from the strike, in which the coalition jets used precision-guided munitions, was still underway.
Bureau Report