Allies launch third Iraq attack in nine days

Allied warplanes today launched air strikes on Iraq’s no-fly zones for the third time in nine days.

A US official said the attack came after British and US jets came under fire from Iraqi anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles.

It was the 46th “strike day” this year by Allied aircraft, which patrol the no-fly zones set up after the 1991 Gulf war.

Precision-guided weapons were used against an air defence headquarters and operations centre near Tallil, 160 miles south of Baghdad.

There was no immediate assessment available on how much damage was done.

Recent allied attacks have set out to destroy communications equipment, control radar and a surface-to-air missile launcher.

Iraq considers the patrols a violation of its sovereignty and frequently shoots at the planes. In response, coalition pilots try to bomb Iraqi air defence systems.

Allied strikes are not necessarily aimed at the place or equipment used to target them.

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has said he ordered pilots to attack command and communications links in Iraq’s air defence network rather than the guns and radars used to target or shoot at them.

The southern no-fly zone was set up to protect Shiite Muslims. The northern zone was set up to protect the Kurdish population. Both were given protection after unsuccessfully revolting against the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.