|
|
U.S. Air Force jet fires missile at Iraqi radar facility
Second strike against Iraq; larger no-fly zone takes effect
September 4, 1996
Web posted at: 12:10 p.m. EDT (1610 GMT)WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A U.S. fighter jet patrolling the expanded no-fly zone in Iraq fired a missile at an Iraqi radar installation Wednesday, U.S. officials said.
An Iraqi radar site on the ground locked on to an Air Force F-16, the officials said. The fighter retaliated immediately with a missile that locks on to radar signals and follows them to their source. It was not known whether the missile hit the radar facility.
(10 sec/412K QuickTime movie of U.S. Dept. of Defense file video of a HARM missle being fired)
Sketchy reports indicated that the Iraqi radar site could have been a mobile unit, and it could have been located above the 33rd parallel, north of the expanded no-fly zone.
The U.S. rules of engagement allow U.S. aircraft to respond immediately with a strike against a radar site if they believe the Iraqis are tracking them for a potential attack.
Saddam Hussein has not followed through on threats to ignore the no-fly zones in Iraq, a Pentagon spokesman said Wednesday while describing a second U.S. missile attack on Iraqi defense and communication sites.
But Iraqi news organizations reported Wednesday that Saddam and his military were reviewing their options, and planned to defy the actions taken by what they called "the ungodly Americans."
Air Force Gen. Joe Ralston, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters that the second air strike Wednesday morning -- 17 missiles fired at four targets -- had "sufficiently reduced" the risk to allied aircraft enforcing a newly expanded no-fly zone in southern Iraq. (23 sec/512K AIFF or WAV sound)
"This morning, Operation Southern Watch proceeded," Ralston said, referring to the enforcement of the no-fly zone." Ralston denied an Iraqi news report that Iraq's military had downed a pilotless plane Wednesday morning over southern Iraq.
"We have no evidence that that is true," he said.
U.S. officials announced Tuesday the expansion of the southern no-fly zone in the wake of Iraq's assault last weekend on a Kurdish-controlled city in the north. The expansion went into effect at noon Wednesday (4 a.m. EDT), and Ralston said Iraqi forces had made no significant movements within the restricted areas since that time.
"So far ... we noted no violations," Ralston said. "As a matter of fact, prior to the enforcement of the no-fly zone, we noticed the departure of some aircraft" from bases within the area.
Ralston said the U.S., British and French coalition enforcing the no-fly zone would "take what action they think is appropriate at the time" if any Iraqi planes take to the air within the exclusion zone.
Saddam said on Iraqi television Tuesday that Iraq considered the no-fly zones "null and void," and called on his forces to shoot down any allied planes flying in Iraqi air space.
Iraqi newspaper editorials Wednesday indicated that Saddam and his military advisers were considering challenging the new rules.
"Once again we say to the ungodly Americans in a loud voice ... (that) from today there will be no (part) of Iraqi territory off-limits to us, whether in the north or the south," said Babel, one of Iraq's official newspapers.
Missile attack followed Iraqi operation
Iraqi forces crossed the 36th parallel into the northern no- fly zone last weekend, and helped a Kurdish faction loyal to Saddam take control of Irbil. The no-fly zone does not exclude ground troops and artillery.
The U.S. warned Iraq against such action as Iraqi troops began massing in the north, and issued another warning last Friday, just before Iraqi artillery fire on the city began.
Iraqi officials claimed their action was justified to drive out a Kurdish faction that receives some backing from Iran, a long-time enemy of Iraq. The Iraqi troops began withdrawing from Irbil on Sunday, but remained in the region. The rival Kurdish faction claimed the troops marched toward other cities, and executed some of its members.
The U.S. declared Iraq's troop withdrawal "insignificant," and warned of retaliation. On Tuesday, Navy ships and Air Force B-52 bombers fired 27 missiles at 15 sites in southern Iraq, Ralston said. After military officials assessed damage reports, they decided to "restrike" four of those targets Wednesday morning before they began enforcing the expanded no-fly zone.
Three surface ships and a submarine in the Persian Gulf participated in Wednesday's action.
Despite some reports that the first strike had missed several of its targets, Ralston said that the Pentagon was satisfied with the result, calling the second strike a "mop-up" operation.
"We felt that we had a very effective strike but as you do in bomb damage assessment, sometimes other factors such as clouds get in the way, and if there was any doubt at all as to whether we reduced the effectiveness of his air defense system, we thought it prudent to go back with a restrike," the general said. (23 sec/512K AIFF or WAV sound)
The general said that the strikes had reduced Iraq's ability to operate militarily in the southern part of the country, one of the goals of the attack. The air strikes, he said, rendered a major training facility and several air bases ineffective for such operations.
Ralston did not rule out further U.S. military action.
Saudi Arabia, Jordan kill plans for third no-fly zone
International reaction to the U.S. air strikes was mixed -- coalition partner Britain supported the strikes, but the third participant in the no-fly zone enforcement -- France -- joined Russian in calling for a diplomatic solution to the Iraqi situation. But France said Wednesday it would enforce the expanded zone.
Pentagon sources said Wednesday that the U.S. had proposed a third no-fly zone in western Iraq, but that the plan was vetoed by Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
The administration delayed the first missile strike against Iraq for a day, the sources said, before settling on an expanded southern zone in lieu of a newly created western one.
Related stories:
- Baghdad residents wary, but business goes on as usual - September 4
- Witnesses say Iraqi troops were in Kurd area over weekend - September 4, 1996
- U.S. launches 2nd attack against Iraq - September 4, 1996
The Strike
Reaction
Before the Strike
Multimedia
Maps & Graphics
Related sites
Additional information from Lexis-Nexis
Tell us what you think!
You said it...
© 1996 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.