US suspends surveillance flights after Iraqi threats

Iraq has forced the suspension of US spy flights, threatening one of two U-2 planes already in the air, a senior American official said today.

Multiple flights are permitted under a UN Security Council resolution approved last November and the Bush administration is seeking clarification from UN inspectors, said the official.

The UN weapons inspection inspection agency – UNMOVIC – had given advance notice to Iraq of the U-2 flights, said the official.

The Iraqi threat is fresh evidence of Baghdad’s unwillingness to cooperate with UN inspectors, another US official said.