Allied jets bomb Iraqi anti-aircraft site

US and British warplanes have bombed an anti-aircraft site in southern Iraq after coming under fire in the area's no-fly zone.

The attack took place near Tallil, southeast of Baghdad, said a spokesman for the Joint Task Force South West Asia.

All coalition aircraft returned safely to base, said a Saudi spokesman. There are no immediate reports of damage to the target.

Yesterday's strike was the first this year and the previous one was in November.

The spokesman described the firing from Iraq's air defence site as "intense enough" to warrant rapid return of fire from coalition aircraft.

It has brought the number of similar violations by Iraq to approximately 1,050 since 1998.

US and British warplanes have patrolled the skies over northern and southern Iraq since the end of the Gulf War.

The no-fly zones were set up to protect Kurds and Shiite Muslims from the forces of Saddam Hussein.

Iraq says the zones violate international law and has been challenging allied planes patrolling them since December 1998.