British and US launch attack on Iraq no-fly zone
British and American warplanes launched an attack in Iraq’s southern no-fly zone last night after Iraqi aircraft penetrated the restricted area.
It brought to 45 the number of strikes reported this year by the Anglo-American coalition put together to patrol zones set up to protect Iraqi minorities following the 1991 Gulf War.
“They placed a mobile radar south of the 33rd parallel,” the boundary for the southern zone, said Commander Frank Merriman, spokesman for US Central Command. “And they flew military aircraft into the zone.”
He declined to say how many Iraqi aircraft.
Coalition planes responded, targeting precision-guided weapons at the radar at Al Kut, 100 miles south-east of Baghdad, at 2200 Irish time, a statement from the command said.
The amount of any damage was unknown because assessment was still underway.
The strike was in the southern zone, set up to protect Shiite Muslims, and it was the 35th one in the zone this year. In the northern zone, set up to protect Kurds, there have been 10 this year.
Both groups were given protection after unsuccessfully revolting against the regime of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
Iraq considers the patrols a violation of its sovereignty and frequently shoots at the planes with anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles. In response, coalition pilots try to bomb Iraqi air defence systems.
The strikes come as the Bush administration increases efforts to convince the world of the need to overthrow Saddam.
