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US Warplane Hit by Iraqi Missile: Iraqi Spokesman
Iraqi air defense and missile forces Tuesday hit a U.S. warplane when it was trying to attack a civilian facility in northern Iraq, said a spokesman of the Iraqi air defense command.
"The U.S. and British warplanes launched 20 sorties from the Turkish territories and tried to attack a civilian facility in the north," the spokesman was quoted as saying by the official Iraqi News Agency.
"However, Iraqi ground defenses and missile forces defied the hostile planes," he said, adding that "all signs show that one of the planes was hit."
He said that U.S. and British planes also launched 34 sorties from the Saudi territories and 11 sorties from the Kuwaiti territories to violate the Iraqi sovereignty. They flew over the provinces of Basra, Zi-Kar Al-Mathna, Misan, Najav, Kadessia, Karbila' and Al-Anbar, he added.
The spokesman noted that U.S. and British planes have made 32, 682 sorties from Saudi, Kuwaiti and Turkish territories since December 1998.
Last Friday, an Iraqi military spokesman disclosed that another U.S. plane coming from Turkish territories was hit by Iraqi missiles.
However, U.S. sources declined to confirm whether or not the Iraqi missiles hit the planes.
Some U.S. military sources recently said that the Iraqi air defense threatens the safety of U.S. and British pilots who make air sorties over northern and southern Iraq and urged the U.S. administration to reduce the number of sorties to protect the lives of pilots.
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