Allied planes strike targets in southern no-fly zone

Allied jets patrolling the southern no-fly zone over Iraq struck five communication relay sites today after Iraqi aircraft “violated” the zone, the US military said.

The aircraft from the US-British coalition used precision-guided weapons in the raid against sites that can be used in targeting the patrol aircraft, the US Central Command said in a statement on its web site.

The cable repeater sites were located between al Kut, approximately 160 kilometres (100 miles) southeast of Baghdad, the statement added.

On Saturday, allied planes hit an anti-aircraft artillery site near Tallil, 275 kilometres (170 miles) southeast of Baghdad.

The US and Britain set up no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq after the 1991 Gulf War to keep Saddam Hussein’s government from attacking Shiite Muslims in the south and Kurds in the north.

Iraq considers the zones to be violations of its sovereignty and frequently tries to shoot down the patrolling aircraft, though it has not succeeded in bringing down a piloted plane. Iraqi gunners have shot down unmanned Predator spy drones.