Death Toll Rises to 3 in US, British Bombing in Southern IraqThe death toll of the US and British bombing in southern Iraq rose to three, and 15 others were injured, an Iraqi military spokesman said Wednesday.Iraq said earlier in the day that two Iraqi civilians were killed during the U.S. and British air raids late on Tuesday. In a statement carried by the official Iraqi News Agency, the spokesman said that the U.S. and British planes, taking off from their bases in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, flew over Iraq's southern provinces of Basra, Wasit, Thi-Qar, Misan and Muthana. "The enemy planes bombed civilian and service installations in Basra and Thi-Qar, and led to the casualties of Iraqi civilian," the spokesman said. Iraqi anti-aircraft artillery opened fire at the hostile planes and forced them to flee, the spokesman added. Meanwhile, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein on Wednesday met with Iraqi Air Defense Commander Shahin Yassin Mohammed and other military officials, who pledged to the Iraqi president to shoot down more U.S. or British planes. U.S. and Britain renewed their air strikes on the Iraqi targets after a U.S. reconnaissance plane was shot down by Iraqi air defense fire on Monday. Washington acknowledged on Monday that it might have lost an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft over southern Iraq. While military aircraft of U.S.-led western allies continue patrolling the two no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq, Iraq has vowed to bolster its air defense to ground any incoming planes that violate its air space. Iraq does not recognize the two no-fly zones unilaterally imposed by U.S.-led forces and has regularly fired at U.S. and British aircraft patrolling the them. |
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