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US, British Jets Drop Incendiary Bombs in Northern Iraq: Spokesman
The warplanes of the United States and Britain patrolling the northern no-fly zone in Iraq on Thursday raided the town of Tallafar in Iraq's northern Neiveva Province with incendiary bombs.
In a statement carried by the official Iraqi News Agency (INA), an Iraqi military spokesman said that at 12:00 local time (0800 GMT), the U.S. and British jets taking off from their bases in Turkey bombed northern Iraq while patrolling the northern no-fly zone.
However, the spokesman did not mention if the bombing caused any casualties or property damage.
He also said that at 09:00 local time (0500 GMT), US and British planes coming from Saudi airspace made four armed sorties over the southern no-fly zone.
Iraqi air defense artillery opened fire at the planes and forced them to flee to their bases in Turkey and Saudi Arabia, the spokesman added.
Iraq has been targeting the U.S. and British aircraft patrolling the two no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq with surface-to- surface missiles and anti-aircraft artillery.
The U.S. and British planes have been enforcing the no-fly zones set up in the wake of the 1991 Gulf War with the claimed aim of protecting the Kurds in the north and the Shiite Muslims in the south from the forces of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
Iraq does not recognize the zones for lack of authorization from the United Nations.
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