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U.S. Bombing Watch: Archive of U.S. Bombings, Invasions and Occupations of Iraq (Methodology History of U.S. Bombing Watch)

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Background on "No-Fly-Zone" Bombings of Iraq

3/3/03: 'Undeclared War' Against Iraq Enters New Phase -- Nicholas Watt, Richard Norton-Taylor, and Suzanne Goldenberg, The Gurdian

2/23/03: US and Britain Pound Iraqi Defenses in Massive Escalation of Airstrikes -- Raymond Whitaker, The Independent

12/23/02: The Secret War: Iraq War already under way -- John Pilger, The Mirror

12/22/02: Casualties of an 'Undeclared War': Civilians Killed and Injured as U.S. Airstrikes Escalate in Southern Iraq -- Peter Baker, Washington Post

12/10/02: No-Fly Zones Over Iraq: Washington's Undeclared War on "Saddam's Victims" -- Jeremy Scahill, www.IraqJournal.org

12/4/02: Britain and US step up bombing in Iraq -- Richard Norton-Taylor, The Guardian

February, 2001: Legality of the No-Fly Zones (PDF File)-- Phyllis Bennis, Institute for Policy Studies

BAGHDAD, Nov 27 (AFP) - US and British warplanes struck targets in southern Iraq on Tuesday, wounding a civilian, an Iraqi military spokesman said.

"Enemy warplanes bombed civilian installations in Zi Qar province, wounding an Iraqi civilian," the spokesman said, quoted by the official news agency INA.

He said Iraqi anti-aircraft fire retaliated "and forced the enemy planes to flee to their bases in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait."

November 12, 2001 at 09:30 JST BAGHDAD — Iraq said U.S. and British warplanes attacked "civilian installations" in Basra Province in southern Iraq on Sunday [11/12/01], wounding one civilian. "American and British planes violated our airspace...and attacked civilian and public service installations in Basra Province, wounding one of our citizens," an Iraqi military spokesman was quoted by the official Iraqi News Agency as saying. (Kyodo News)

IRAQI CHILD INJURED IN BOMB EXPLOSION
     BAGHDAD, October 15 (Xinhua)--A child was severely injured when a bomb, believed to be dropped by the United States and Britain, exploded in a stadium in the city of As-Simawa in southern Muthana Province, the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported Monday.
     The report said that the explosion claimed half of the child's left arm and two fingers of the right hand. However, the report
neither mentioned when the explosion took place, nor did it elaborate on the present conditions of the unidentified child.
     Muthana is located inside the so-called southern no-fly zone, which was set up by the U.S.-led Western allies in the wake of
the 1991 Gulf War with the claimed aim of protecting the Shiite Muslims from the persecution of Iraqi President Saddam
Hussein.
     A similar no-fly zone was also established in northern Iraq to protect the Kurds there.
     It is believed that the Gulf War, triggered by Iraqi 1990 invasion of Kuwait and the constant U.S.-British bombardments of the two no-fly zones have left over a large number of unexploded shells and mines in Iraq, especially in the south. Iraq has often
reported civilians wounded or even killed by bombs and mines allegedly left over during the U.S.-British bombing campaign.

Two Iraqis were killed and a third was wounded Wednesday in a US-British air raid on Basra in southern Iraq, an Iraqi military spokesman said.

The spokesman, quoted by the official INA news agency, said US and British warplanes bombed "civilian and services (public) installations" in Basra, killing Riad Nahi and Murtada Abdul Amir and wounding a third man, Amjad Rahim.

He said Iraqi anti-aircraft gunners "forced the US and British warplanes to flee to their bases in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait."

BAGHDAD, October 2 (Xinhua) - Warplanes of the United States and Britain bombed southern Iraq on Tuesday, an Iraqi military spokesman said, without mentioning any casualties.

In a statement carried by the official Iraqi News Agency (INA), the spokesman said that the U.S. and British planes, crossing into Iraqi airspace from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, bombed "civil and service installations" in the southern Basra Province.

Meanwhile, at 11:20 local time (0720 GMT), U.S. and British planes flew over Iraq's northern provinces of Dohuk and Erbil, the spokesman said.

On both occasions, the hostile planes were confronted by Iraq's anti-aircraft artillery and were forced to flee to their bases in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Turkey, the spokesman added.

The two no-fly zones in southern and northern Iraq, covering 10 out of Iraq's total 18 provinces, were set up by the U.S.-led Western allies after the 1991 Gulf War.

Iraq does not recognize the no-fly zones and has regularly fired at the U.S. and British planes flying patrolling missions over the zones.

There have been a flurry of air raids by the U.S. and British planes recently in retaliation for Iraq's intensified air defense fire,

DUBAI (Reuters) - U.S. and British warplanes struck air defense targets in Iraq's southern no-fly zone for the second time in a week on Thursday in the latest in a flurry of raids since late August, U.S. military officials said.

"The strikes were in response to recent hostile threats by the Iraqis," a U.S. military spokesman in the Gulf said. He gave no

details of the alleged threats. A spokesman for U.S. Central Command in Florida said British and American aircraft used precision-guided munitions to strike anti-aircraft artillery and command and control vehicles in open fields at Shahban and Nassiryah, he said.

"Today's coalition strikes in the no-fly zones were executed as self- defense measures in response to Iraqi hostile threats and acts against coalition air crews," Colonel Rick Thomas said in a statement.

"If Iraq were to cease its threatening actions, coalition strikes would also cease," Thomas said. He said Thursday's strikes were not linked to President Bush's campaign against terrorism following September 11 attacks in the United States which left nearly 7,000 people dead or missing believed killed.

The attack was the latest in a spate of raids by American and British jets since late August, with three last week alone, amid attempts by Iraq to shoot down aircraft patrolling no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq. U.S. and British planes last hit southern Iraq on September 21.

The no-fly zones have been enforced since shortly after a U.S.-led coalition drove Iraqi occupiers from Kuwait in 1991.

They were created to protect minority Kurds and Shi'ites from attack by President Saddam Hussein's armed forces and to ensure that Iraq did not again threaten its neighbors.

Iraq does not recognize the zones and they are also severely criticized by Russia, which accuses Washington and London of

circumventing the United Nations in setting them up. In early August, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Iraq had

greatly improved its air defenses with fiber-optic links since coalition planes pounded them and other military targets south of

Baghdad in February. About 50 U.S. and British jets hit those defenses with precision- guided bombs and missiles again in August. The spokesman in the Gulf region said on Thursday all coalition aircraft had safely left Iraqi airspace. The U.S. military said that, since December 1998, Iraq had fired anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles against U.S. and British planes on more than 1,050 occasions, including more than 420 times this year.

Reuters. Dubai, Sep 27 - Western warplanes struck at air defence targets in Iraq's southern no-fly zone for the second time in a week today in the latest in a flurry of raids since late August, the US military said. "The strikes were in response to recent hostile threats by the Iraqis," a US military spokesman in the Gulf said. He gave no details of the alleged threats. The strikes were carried out by coalition aircraft, a phrase normally used by the Pentagon to describe British and US warplanes, using precision-guided munitions against anti-aircraft artillery and command and control sites at Shahban and Nassiryah, he said. The attack was the latest in a spate of raids by American and British warplanes since late August, with three last week alone, amid attempts by Iraq to shoot down aircraft patrolling no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq. US and British planes last hit southern Iraq on Sep 21. The spokesman said today all coalition aircraft had safely left Iraqi airspace.

American and British warplanes have attacked air defence sites in southern Iraq.

The United States defence department said the action was carried out at two sites south-east of Baghdad in response to recent hostile threats.

A Pentagon spokesman said the air strikes had nothing to do with last week's suicide plane attacks in New York and Washington.

The BBC Defence Correspondent says the action was part of routine allied monitoring of the air exclusion zones set up after the Gulf War.

Eight people were killed and three others injured in a Western missile strike south-east of Baghdad on Sunday, the official Iraqi news agency (INA) has reported.

It said a number of farms had been hit in an attack by US and British planes patrolling the southern no-fly zone.

"America and Britain committed yet another savage aggression that targeted Iraqi civilians when their planes attacked the al-Salihiya area in Wasit province, killing eight and wounding three," INA said.

The Pentagon has said that US Air Force F-16, Navy F-18 and British Tornado GR-4 aircraft struck missile sites near al-Numinayah, al-Kut and Tallil, all south-east of Baghdad.

The United States has accused Iraq of upgrading its military technology and developing weapons of mass destruction in the absence of international monitoring.

Speaking shortly after the raids, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Iraqi efforts had been gathering pace since UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in late 1998.

US and British warplanes have carried out four other attacks on Iraqi air defences since 25 August to enforce the no-fly zones imposed after the 1991 Gulf War.

But Washington says Iraq has improved the effectiveness of its air defences, posing a greater danger to allied planes.

Mr Rumsfeld said the Iraqis had been "working diligently to increase their capabilities in every aspect of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile technology".

Speaking on Fox television, he said: "That problem, particularly biological weapons, over the coming decade is going to be an increasingly serious one".

A variety of techniques would be needed to hit Iraqi weapons sites, some of which were mobile or underground, he added.

BAGHDAD, Sept 4, 2001 (AFP) -
Four Iraqis were wounded in air strikes Tuesday by US and British warplanes on southern Iraq, a military spokesman said, cited by the official INA news agency.

The spokesman said the four were wounded in the "bombardment of civilian installations in Muthanna province."

He added that missiles and anti-aircraft fire had "forced enemy planes to flee after carrying out raids, besides Muthanna, on the provinces of Basra, Zi Qar and Qadissiya."

Other allied aircraft "were forced to turn back under fire from missile batteries and anti-aircraft gunners after carrying out raids on the provinces of Dohuk, Erbil and Niniveh" in northern Iraq.

The US military announced earlier that its warplanes attacked Iraqi air defence sites in northern and southern Iraq in response to Iraqi ground fire and "hostile threats."

The US European Command said coalition warplanes struck "elements of Iraq's integrated air defence" in northern Iraq in response to anti-aircraft artillery fire and after coalition aircraft monitoring a no-fly zone in the north were targeted by Iraqi radar.

In the south US jets used precision guided munitions to attack anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missile sites around As Samwah, 209 kilometers (130 miles) southeast of Baghdad, a spokesman for the US Central Command said.

The command, based in Tampa, Florida, but responsible for forces in the Gulf, said the attack was "in response to recent Iraqi hostile threats against coalition aircraft monitoring the southern no-fly zone."

The raids were the latest episode in a long-running US and British campaign to enforce no-fly zones over southern and northern Iraq that were imposed after the 1991 Gulf War.

Iraq has improved the effectiveness of its air defences in the past year with fiber optic communications links.

"The concern is that ... their ability to target us is improved," said Colonel Rick Thomas, spokesman for the US Central Command.

"And therefore the ability of these sites to target and potentially hit coalition aircraft is the reason we struck."

US Air Force F-16s and Navy F/A-18s from the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise took part in Tuesday's raid in the south.

In the north the bombing followed anti-aircraft artillery fire from sites north of Mosul, the European Command's statement said, adding that the patrol planes were also targeted by Iraqi radar.

US aircraft "responded to the Iraqi attacks by delivering ordnance on elements of the Iraqi integrated air defence system," the statement said in the usual formula.

The jets returned safely to their base in Incirlik in Turkey's southern province of Adana, the military said.

BAGHDAD, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Iraq confirmed on Friday that Western warplanes had attacked the radar of Basra airport and said the station was destroyed.

"At 21:42 (17:42 GMT) on Thursday, U.S. and British warplanes committed a despicable crime by bombing the radar station of Basra International Airport, which guides civilian landings and takeoffs," said a transport ministry official.

This device is registered with the International Air Transport Association. It was fully destroyed, the official told the Iraqi News Agency.

U.S. defence officials said on Thursday that F-16 warplanes attacked "a military radar" as part of a concerted strategy to destroy Baghdad's air defences, which regularly fire at Western warplanes policing two "no-fly" zones in northern and southern
Iraq.

WASHINGTON: Allied jets last night bombed Iraq in response to Baghdad shooting down an unmanned US surveillance plane. One Iraqi was killed and three others wounded in the combined US/British air strikes in northern Iraq, a military spokesman said in Baghdad.

The warplanes bombed Iraq in response to Iraqi fire in routine patrols over the no-fly zone in the region, the Stuttgart-based US European Command said. The aircraft dropped "ordnance on elements of the Iraqi integrated air defence system" after Iraqis fired anti-aircraft artillery from sites north of Mosul, the statement said. The jets returned safely to their base in Incirlik in Turkey's southern province of Adana.

The bombing in northern Iraq followed the disappearance earlier of an unmanned US surveillance plane in a similar exclusion
zone over southern Iraq. A Pentagon official said the plane, which was on a mission over southern Iraq, had failed to return to its base.

The official Iraqi News Agency had reported earlier from Baghdad that Iraqi anti-aircraft forces had shot down a US spy
plane in the region of the southern port city of Basra. "It was operating in southern Iraq to gather information on our
strategic sites and our anti-aircraft defences," the statement said.

Iraq has tried to shoot down a US plane before. But until last night the US always had denied any of its aircraft had been hit,
although it acknowledged an increasing number of close calls.

Iraqi forces threatened Operation Northern Watch (ONW) coalition aircraft today by firing anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) from sites north of Mosul. Coalition aircraft were also targeted by Iraqi radar while conducting routine enforcement of the Northern No-Fly Zone.

Coalition aircraft responded to the Iraqi attacks by delivering ordnance on elements of the Iraqi integrated air defense system.

Coalition aircraft have been enforcing the Northern No-Fly Zone for more than 10 years. Since Dec. 28, 1998, Saddam Hussein has opted to challenge this enforcement by firing at coalition aircraft with surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and anti-aircraft artillery and by targeting them with radar. Operation Northern Watch aircraft respond in self-defense to these threats, while continuing to enforce the No-fly Zone.

For more information, please contact the Combined Task Force Combined Information Bureau at +90-322-316-3704.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jets bombed a surface-to-air missile site in southern Iraq Tuesday, U.S. officials said.

The attack took place near the town of An Nasiriyah, some 170 miles south east of Baghdad.

The target area included Soviet-made SA-2 anti-aircraft missiles, with their launchers, fire control radars and associated command and control structures, according to officials who asked they not be identified.

The mobile SA-2 missiles had been a thorn in the side of U.S. pilots and commanders in the region, who have reported that Iraqi forces had been regularly re-locating the site in their ongoing effort to surprise and down a U.S. or British warplane patrolling the southern no-fly zone, defense officials revealed.

All U.S. and British strike and support aircraft returned safely to their bases in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia following the strike, the officials said.

The United States and its coalition partner Great Britain have stepped up efforts of late to degrade the integrated air defense system throughout Iraq since Iraq has, for the last five months, been aggressively attempting to down a coalition aircraft, the Pentagon has said.

The U.S. and Britain launched significant air attacks against three Iraqi air defense sites last Friday. Those strikes included a total of about 50 aircraft including 18 strike planes flying from bases in the region and the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise sailing in the Persian Gulf.

Pentagon officials said Tuesday that Iraqi air defense units now appear to be focusing on downing a U.S. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) known as a "Predator."

The Predator is a pilotless airborne reconnaissance aircraft used in Iraq to gather intelligence on the movement of Iraqi military forces and air defense units.

The Predator is about 27 feet long with a wing span of nearly 49 feet. It flies at a cruising speed of less than 100 miles per hour and typically flies at an altitude of less than 15,000 feet, making it an easy target for advanced air defense systems such as the one fielded by Iraq.

WASHINGTON - US and British warplanes launched a major strike Friday against three air-defense sites in southern Iraq
Friday in response to recent attacks on coalition aircraft patrolling the no-fly zone, Pentagon officials said.

About 50 aircraft -- including tankers and other support aircraft -- participated in the raid, the largest since February. All returned safely, a Pentagon official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official said the raid was in response to "recent increases in air defense firings against coalition aircraft," and targets
included "two communications nodes and surface-to-air missile sites."

A second Pentagon official said the targets included a communications node, a surface-to-air missile site and a radar site.

The second official confirmed the strike -- initiated by army General Tommy Franks, US Central Command chief, was the
biggest since a February 16 raid on air-defense targets near Baghdad. Franks has authority to act to protect aircraft patrolling over Iraq without first seeking White House approval.

"It was a little more than a plink but not big," the second official said, also speaking on condition of anonymity.

There were "a little less than 20 aircraft in the strike package, but approximately 50 in the air," launched from the aircraft
carrier USS Enterprise and ground bases in the region, the second official said.

Friday's air strike was the second this week in response to recent anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missile fire at
coalition aircraft patrolling the no-fly zone.

US warplanes Tuesday shattered a three-week lull by attacking a multiple-rocket launcher near Mosul in northern Iraq.

*** According to the Associated Press Iraqi casualties included 1 person killed and 11 wounded in Wassit ***

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States on Tuesday bombed an Iraqi multiple rocket launcher in northern Iraq in what Pentagon officials said was an immediate response to a provocation.

Pentagon sources say the Iraqi rocket launcher fired three surface-to-air missiles at U.S. planes patrolling the northern no-fly
zone imposed by the Western coalition, and a U.S. Air Force F-16 dropped two laser-guided bombs at
the launcher in response.

The bomb damage has not been completely assessed, but a Pentagon official said it is believed the bombs hit the target, which is north of the Iraqi town of Mosul.

The Pentagon said it was the first strike against Iraqi air defenses since July 17, when U.S. planes bombed an air defense site
in the southern no-fly zone.

Pentagon sources told CNN that the United States has "put on hold" plans for large-scale retaliatory air strikes because of concern that the negative reaction from U.S. allies in the region is not worth the limited effect the
bombing would have on Iraqi air defenses.

Sources said the United States is back to its usual policy of striking smaller targets that threaten coalition planes on an "as
needed" basis, and say Tuesday's strike is an example of that.

Meanwhile, military sources said Monday that Iraq continues to violate the no-fly zones.

Sources said on Saturday that an Iraqi MiG-23 flew some 60 miles into the southern no-fly zone, near where a U.S. predator
unmanned aerial vehicle was conducting surveillance.

The United States has also returned to its normal military posture of having one aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf.

The U.S. briefly had two carriers last week in the Gulf when the USS Enterprise arrived to relieve the USS Constellation,
but the Constellation left Saturday.

On June 26, a statement from the U.S. Central Command said there have been "more than 900 separate incidents of Iraqi
surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery fire directed at coalition aircraft since December 1998, including more than 275 in this calendar year."

Northern and southern no-fly zones were put in place over Iraq following the 1991 Persian Gulf War as part of an effort to prevent the Baghdad government of President Saddam Hussein from persecuting the minority Shiite Muslims in the south and the Kurdish population in northern Iraq.

MACDILL AFB, Florida (CNN) -- The U.S. Central Command said Tuesday coalition jets struck an anti-aircraft artillery site in southern Iraq.

A statement said the strike was "in response to recent Iraqi hostile acts against coalition aircraft monitoring the Southern No-Fly Zone" of Iraq.

The statement said "precision-guided weapons" were used against the site. An assessment of the damage done to the target is under way.

The statement said, "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. If Iraq were to cease its threatening actions, coalition strikes would cease as well. The last coalition strike in the Southern No-Fly Zone was against an Iraqi anti-aircraft artillery site on July 7.

Strike on Iraq's southern no-fly zone
July 7, 2001

MACDILL AFB, Florida (CNN) -- Coalition aircraft struck an anti-artillery site in Iraq's southern "no-fly zone" early Saturday, the U.S. Central Command here announced.

A statement from the Central Command said the strike, which was performed at 3:15 a.m. EDT with precision-guided weapons, was in response to "hostile acts against coalition aircraft."

A spokesman for Iraqi Air Defense Command said Iraq's missile force and anti-aircraft artillery drove the planes out of the disputed airspace and back to their bases in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported.

All coalition aircraft returned safely to their base aboard the USS Constellation in the Arabian Gulf, said Lt. Col. Rick Thomas of the U.S. Central Command.

The last strike by coalition forces in the southern no-fly zone was also against an Iraqi anti-aircraft artillery site on June 26.

U.S. and British aircraft monitor the northern and southern no-fly zones, which were put in place following the 1991 Persian Gulf War as part of an effort to prevent the Iraqi government of President Saddam Hussein from persecuting the minority Shiite Muslims in the south and the Kurdish population in northern Iraq.

There have been more than 900 separate incidents of Iraqi surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery fire directed at coalition aircraft since December 1998, including more than 275 in this calendar year, the Pentagon said last month.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq said on Tuesday that U.S.-led coalition aircraft had struck at ''our civilian and service centers in the province of Basra,'' killing three Iraqis -- an accusation denied by the United States.

A spokesman for the U.S. Central Command in Florida, which directs the aircraft that enforce the southern no-fly zone in Iraq, acknowledged that U.S. planes had conducted a strike against Basra on Monday, but said they had attacked an anti-aircraft artillery site and not a civilian target.

''The attack led to the martyrdom of three citizens,'' an Iraqi Air Defense spokesman told Iraq's state-controlled news agency, INA.

"Yesterday we conducted a strike at an Iraqi anti-aircraft artillery site," Lt. Col. Rich Thomas told CNN. "It was in response to Iraqi hostile acts."

Last week, Iraq said coalition planes killed at least 22 young Iraqis on June 19 on a soccer field in the northern city of Mosul. In Washington, Pentagon officials said it was probably a malfunctioning Iraqi anti-aircraft missile that killed the young men.

That attack was the first strike by Western warplanes in southern Iraq since June 14, according to a statement from the U.S. Central Command.

There have been "more than 900 separate incidents of Iraqi surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery fire directed at coalition aircraft since December 1998, including more than 275 in this calendar year," the statement said.

U.S., British planes strike Iraqi air defenses
June 25, 2001

By Chris Plante
CNN National Security Producer

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. and British warplanes bombed an Iraqi anti-aircraft artillery site in southern Iraq Monday in response to "hostile acts against coalition aircraft monitoring the southern no-fly zone," the Pentagon said.

The nighttime air strikes mark the first attack by Western warplanes in southern Iraq since June 14, according to a statement from the U.S. Central Command.

The strikes took place at about 3:15 p.m. EDT, according to the Central Command.

The Iraqi government last week accused the U.S. of bombing civilians at a soccer field in northern Iraq, killing more than 20 people.

The United States denied bombing the soccer field or even dropping any bombs on that day. U.S. sources told CNN that they believed that the casualties inflicted in the incident were caused by the malfunction of an Iraqi surface-to-air missile, which had been fired at U.S. planes patrolling the northern no-fly zone.

The no-fly zones were put in place following the 1991 Persian Gulf War as part of an effort to prevent the Baghdad government of President Saddam Hussein from persecuting the minority Shiite Muslims in the south and the Kurdish population in northern Iraq.

Did the UK/US bomb Tel A'fer, Iraq on June 19th, killing 23 people? Click here for report from Americans in Iraq.

Operation Northern Watch aircraft were targeted by Iraqi missile guidance radar systems from sites north of Mosul while conducting routine enforcement of the Northern No-Fly Zone. Iraqi gunners later attacked ONW aircraft with anti-aircraft artillery fire.

Coalition aircraft responded to the Iraqi attacks by dropping ordnance on elements of the Iraqi integrated air defense system.

For more information, please contact the Combined Task Force Combined Information Bureau at +90-322-316-3704.

BAGHDAD, June 6 (Reuters) - Iraq said U.S and British planes flying from bases in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait attacked targets in the south of the country on Wednesday, but no casualties were reported. "At 08:20 a.m.(0420 GMT) on Wednesday [6/6/01], U.S. and British warplanes violated our air space, carrying out 12 sorties from Saudi Arabia and 25 sorties from Kuwait," an Iraqi military spokesman said in a statement carried by the official Iraqi News Agency. "The planes flew over the provinces of Basra, Dhi qar, Meissan, Muthanna, Najaf, Qadissiya and Kerbala," he said. He said the planes attacked civilian and service installations in Amara city, Meissan province, but were forced to return to their bases by Iraqi air-defence fire.

There was no immediate confirmation from the United States or Britain. The U.S. military said American jets enforcing a "no-fly" zone over southern Iraq had attacked an anti-aircraft artillery site on Tuesday "in response to recent Iraqi hostile acts".
An Iraqi military spokesman was quoted in Iraqi newspapers on Wednesday as confirming the U.S. report, saying the U.S. had attacked unspecified civilian installations. He said British planes had also been involved.

Western powers established no-fly zones in the north and south of Iraq after the Gulf War in 1991 to help protect a Kurdish enclave in northern Iraq and Shi'ite Muslims in the south from possible attacks by Iraqi forces.

Last Monday, U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said improvements in Iraqi defences had increased the risk of an American plane being shot down. U.S. military commanders overseeing operations over Iraq have said it might be necessary to cut back on the enforcement flights in the face of increasing and more effective attacks on them from the ground.

Coalition forces strike site in Iraqi no-fly zone
June 5, 2001

MACDILL Air Force Base, Florida (CNN) -- U.S.-coalition aircraft fired precision-guided weapons on an anti-aircraft artillery site in southern Iraq's no-fly zone Tuesday, in response to recent Iraqi "hostile acts," the United States Central Command (USCENTCOM) said in a written statement.

The attack, which took place at 3:30 a.m. EDT, comes less than a month after the last coalition strike in the southern no-fly zone on May 18.

The command estimates that Iraq has violated the southern no-fly zone restrictions more than 160 times, since December 1998.

USCENTCOM also said Iraq has fired on coalition aircraft in more than 900 separate incidents, during the same period.

The U.S. Central Command, based at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida is a division of the Department of Defense, which protects U.S. security interests in several countries, including Iraq.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. warplanes struck targets at an air defense site in southern Iraq Friday, "in response to recent Iraqi hostile threats against coalition aircraft monitoring the southern no-fly zone", the U.S. Central Command said in a statement.

The strikes were against an inactive air defense site in the eastern portion of the no-fly zone that U.S. military officials said could have become a threat to patrolling aircraft with little or no notice.

Fewer than a dozen U.S. strike aircraft were involved in the strike, according to Pentagon officials who asked to remain anonymous.

There have been more than 850 incidents involving Iraqi air defenses firing against U.S. or British aircraft patrolling the southern no-fly zone since December 1998 when the U.S. and Britain launched "Operations Desert Fox" against targets throughout Iraq.

This year, Iraqi aircraft have violated the no-fly zone more than 160 times and fired on U.S. or British aircraft more than 220 times, the Central Command said.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP, 5/24/01) - U.S. jets struck Iraqi air defense systems in the northern no-fly zone Wednesday [5/23/01] after coming under Iraqi anti-aircraft fire, the U.S. military said in a statement.

The U.S. warplanes were conducting routine patrols when the Iraqi military fired from sites north and west of Mosul, some 250 miles north of Baghdad, the Germany-based U.S. European Command said in a statement.

The Iraqi news agency, quoting a military official, confirmed the air raid and reported no casualties.

The United States and Britain have been enforcing no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq since the end of the Gulf War in 1991. The planes patrolling the northern zone are based in the southern Turkish air base of Incirlik.

Iraq considers the zones to be violations of its territorial sovereignty and has been challenging the patrols since December 1998.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP - 5/1/01) - U.S. jets struck Iraqi air defense sites in a northern no-fly zone on Monday [4/30/01] in response to Iraqi anti-aircraft fire, the U.S. military said in a statement.

U.S. warplanes conducting routine patrols bombed air defense systems after coming under Iraqi artillery fire northwest of Mosul, 250 miles north of Baghdad, the Germany-based U.S. European Command said in a statement.

All warplanes left the area safely, the statement added. There was no immediate word from Iraqi authorities on casualties. The United States and Britain have been enforcing no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq since the end of the Gulf War in 1991.

Iraq, which regards the zones as violations of its territorial sovereignty, has been challenging the patrols since December 1998.

Planes patrolling the northern zone are based in the southern Turkish base of Incirlik. Despite hosting U.S. and British warplanes, Turkey is trying to boost ties with Iraq and wants an easing of the U.N.-economic sanctions against its southern neighbor.

Baghdad, Iraq (AP - 4/29/01) - U.S. and British warplanes bombed southern Iraq on Saturday [4/28/01], killing one civilian and wounding two others, the official Iraqi News Agency reported.

There was no immediate response from the U.S. military, and calls to the U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Fla, went unanswered.

The allied airstrike hit civilian targets in Najaf province, whose capital city of the same name is 1,113 miles south of Baghdad, an unidentified military spokesman told the agency.

Iraqi forces threatened Operation Northern Watch(ONW) coalition aircraft today. Iraqi forces fired anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) from sites north of Mosul while ONW aircraft conducted routine enforcement of the Northern No-Fly Zone.

Coalition aircraft responded to the Iraqi attacks by dropping ordnance on elements of the Iraqi integrated air defense system.

Coalition aircraft have been enforcing the Northern No-Fly Zone for more than nine years. Since Dec. 28, 1998, Saddam Hussein has opted to challenge this enforcement by firing at coalition aircraft with surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and anti-aircraft artillery and by targeting them with radar. Operation Northern Watch aircraft respond in self-defense to these threats, while continuing to enforce the No-fly Zone.

For more information, please contact the Combined Task Force Combined Information Bureau at +90-322-316-3704.

Iraqi forces threatened Operation Northern Watch (ONW) coalition aircraft today. Iraqi forces fired anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) from sites north of Mosul while ONW aircraft conducted routine enforcement of the Northern No-Fly Zone. Coalition aircraft were also targeted by Iraqi radar from sites southeast of Mosul.

Coalition aircraft responded to the Iraqi attacks by dropping ordnance on elements of the Iraqi integrated air defense system.

For more information, please contact the Combined Task Force Combined Information Bureau at +90-322-316-3704.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. President George W. Bush called Friday's attack on Iraqi radar sites "a routine mission to enforce the no-fly zone."

United States and British warplanes attacked five Iraqi anti-aircraft radar control sites around Baghdad and 20 other radar installations, Pentagon sources said.

The 24-aircraft mission was the first against targets outside the southern no-fly zone in two years, but White House officials said it did not indicate an escalation in attacks against Iraq.

Iraq released a statement condemning the attack and said it was carried out by the United States and Israel and is the prelude to a holy war.

"The aggression of this night, the 16th of February, came to confirm that America was planning and working hand in hand with the Zionist entity," the statement said.

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was said to be in an emergency meeting with the ruling Baath Party and the Revolutionary Command Council.

Iraqi television said two people were killed in the attack and showed pictures of other injured civilians, including children, in a hospital.

Bush on a one-day visit to Mexico, said the missions to enforce the no-fly zones are "part of a strategy, and until that strategy is changed, if it is changed, we will continue to enforce them." (More on no-fly zones)

Bush added that the United States fully expects Hussein to adhere to agreements he signed after Operation Desert Storm 10 years ago.

"Our intention is to make sure that the world is as peaceful as possible and we're going to watch very carefully as to whether he develops weapons of mass destruction," Bush said. "If we catch him doing so, we're going to take appropriate action."

The White House said missile attacks against Iraqi military command and control centers south of Baghdad on Friday did not "represent an escalation in attacks against Iraq or a change in policy."

An administration official told CNN that the White House views the attacks as consistent with U.S. policy established at the end of the Persian Gulf war.

"The targets were struck pursuant to existing policy in place since 1991," the official said. "The policy allows the U.S. to take out assets that threaten our forces. The president was aware of and approved the action. We have hit targets that constituted a threat to our forces, but this does not represent an escalation in our activity against Iraq or a change in policy."

The operation was prompted by an "increased threat to our aircraft and our crew," Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold said at a Pentagon news conference.

A spokesman for the British Ministry of defense told CNN that Iraq has launched more attacks against allied planes patrolling the no-fly zone in the month of January of 2001 than it did in the whole of the year 2000.

It marks the first time since Operation Desert Fox in 1998 that the allies have struck targets outside the no-fly zone, in this case north of the 33rd parallel. The no-fly zones are bands running across Iraq that are bordered by the 33rd parallel in the south and 36th parallel in the north.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld issued a written statement on the attacks on Iraq.

"The objective of today's mission by coalition forces was to degrade Iraqi air defense capabilities and thus reduce the threat posed to coalition aircraft and aircrews," The statement said.

"The specifics of the mission were planned by the military commander in the field, and were presented to and approved by the national command authorities. The administration intends to enforce the no-fly zones in Iraq and will take appropriate steps to reduce the threats to coalition forces engaged in this mission," Rumsfeld's statement said.

"Commanders on the ground rightly make the decision how to enforce the no-fly zone," Bush said at a press conference in Mexico, where he was meeting with President Vicente Fox. "Some of the missions require the commander in chief to be informed. This was one of them."

Asked whether he approved of the strike on Iraq, Fox said, "I do not have a position or statement at this time. That will be done through the Foreign Ministry in the future."

U.S. sources confirmed that at least six British aircraft participated in the attacks. All planes involved in the attack returned safely, Newbold said.

In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Tony Blair was apprised of the strikes, but it was the Minister of Defense Geoff Hune who authorized the strike, according to British government sources.

Iraqi forces threatened Operation Northern Watch (ONW) coalition aircraft today. Iraqi forces fired anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) from sites north of Mosul while ONW aircraft conducted routine enforcement of the Northern No-Fly Zone. Coalition aircraft were also targeted by Iraqi radar.

Coalition aircraft responded to the Iraqi attacks by dropping ordnance on elements of the Iraqi integrated air defense system.

For more information, please contact the Combined Task Force Combined Information Bureau at +90-322-316-3704.

2-11-01 Southern Iraq, 16 civilians injured (among them 8 children & 4 women) and 17 houses damaged. Reuters, AP, AFP

Iraqi forces threatened Operation Northern Watch (ONW) coalition aircraft again today. Iraqi forces launched surface-to-air missiles (SAM) and fired anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) from sites north of Mosul while ONW aircraft conducted routine enforcement of the Northern No-Fly Zone.

Coalition aircraft responded to the Iraqi attacks by dropping ordnance on elements of the Iraqi integrated air defense system.

For more information, please contact the Combined Task Force Combined Information Bureau at +90-322-316-3704.