AL Condemns US-British Air Attack against IraqEsmat Abdel-Meguid, secretary general of the Cairo-based Arab League (AL) Saturday slammed US-British overnight air attacks on Baghdad.The air raids, which reportedly killed two Iraqi civilians and injured more than 20 others, violated international law and "had no justification," the state-run MENA news agency quoted the AL chief as saying. He warned that the bombardment was arousing "angry sentiments and discontent" in the Arab world, calling on the UN to take steps to protect Iraq's sovereignty. According to the Pentagon, 24 US and British warplanes struck five Iraqi military targets eight to 32 kilometers from the Iraqi capital, using various long-range precision-guided weapons. The Pentagon said the planes had hit Iraqi air defense sites south of Baghdad outside the Western-imposed "no-fly zone." The attack, said by the US a "routine" mission, was the first on the Iraqi capital since December 1998, when the US and Britain launched a four-day bombardment against Iraq for its alleged refusal to cooperate with UN arms inspectors. This was also the first air strike against Iraq ordered by US President George W. Bush. Iraq has been under international sanctions since its invasion of Kuwait in 1990. |
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