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Iraqi troops attack Kurdish rebel stronghold of Irbil
U.S. troops on high alert
August 31, 1996
Web posted at: 6:05 p.m. ET (2205 GMT)(CNN) -- President Clinton put U.S. troops in the Gulf region on "high alert" Saturday after Iraqi troops and tanks supporting a Kurdish rebel faction attacked the rival Kurdish stronghold of Irbil.
The city is in the "no-fly zone" created in northern Iraq after the Gulf War.
Late Saturday, news agencies quoted Iraqi sources as saying Baghdad would withdraw its troops soon from the area. No timetable was given.
The state-run Iraqi News Agency issued a statement saying military action was taken because the rival Kurdish faction -- the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan -- had been cooperating recently with Iran, Iraq's longtime enemy, according to The Associated Press.
Officials told CNN the U.S. military alert was intended to convey a message to Iraq of U.S. determination. Sources said the United States would respond to the situation, but not necessarily militarily.
Just in case, however, military sources said four B-52 bombers were dispatched to Guam Saturday from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, to be ready for any possible Persian Gulf mission.
Bob Dole, Clinton's Republican rival in the presidential race, condemned the Iraqi troop movement, calling it a "pretext for intervention in northern Iraq by Iran and Iraq."
"As Americans, we need to be concerned not only about another humanitarian tragedy for the Kurds of Iraq, but also about the potential resurgence of Saddam Hussein as a menace to the peace and stability of this vital region," Dole said in a statement.
A White House official said there had been no instances of Iraqi air intrusions into the allied-patrolled "no-fly" zone north of the 36th parallel. Irbil lies in that part of Iraq patrolled by U.S.-led air units after the Gulf War in 1991.
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz said the offensive was aimed at helping the Kurdistan Democratic Party, or KDP, a Kurdish faction allied with the Iraqi government.
"We decided to launch a limited military operation in defense of our sovereignty, our people and their properties," Aziz said in a statement monitored in Cyprus.
In Geneva, U.N. refugee official Ron Redmond said his staff in Irbil reported the Iraqi flag was flying atop the Kurdish parliament building.
The U.N. report said it appeared that much of the Kurdish resistance had fled. The city had been controlled recently by the Iranian-backed PUK, or Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.
The PUK appealed for help from the Western forces based in Turkey and the Gulf region, and reported "scores of civilians casualties." There was no independent confirmation of casualties.
U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher sent a letter Saturday to Turkish Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller requesting Ankara's intervention, a U.S. embassy official told The Associated Press in Ankara.
A KDP official in Turkey, Faik Nerweyi, told Reuters that Iranian troops had crossed into northern Iraq on Saturday, and had established a headquarters at Chuman. There was no immediate confirmation of the report.
The White House official said the Iraqi troops that had massed at Irbil consisted of three divisions of 30,000 to 40,000 Republican Guard troops equipped with heavy artillery and surface-to-air missiles.
The official said it was the first such deployment by Iraq since shortly after the end of the Gulf War in 1991 when Saddam Hussein tried to seize control of northern Iraq from the Kurds.
PUK leader Jalal Talabani told Reuters from Irbil that he had warned the United States three days ago that Iraqi troops were preparing to attack.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Rebel Kurds declare end to cease-fire- Aug. 16, 1996
- Iran claims Turkey staged air raid- June 28, 1996
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