US jets bomb Iraqi defence sites

US jets bomb Iraqi defence sites
ASSOCIATED PRESS

MACdILL AIR FORCE BASE, SEPT 3: US jets bombed air defence sites in southern Iraq on Saturday after allied planes came under missile attack, the US military said. All the planes returned safely from the strike, and the military is assessing the damage, according to a news release from MacDill Air Force Base near Tampa, Florida.

"The sites were targeted to further degrade Iraq's ability to jeopardise coalition pilots and aircraft enforcing United Nation's mandates," the military said.

There was no immediate word from Iraqi officials about any damage or casualties.

The last air strike against Iraqi air defence sites was on Wednesday last. Iraq claimed the strike hit a village, injuring three people, including a child.

The US and Britain have been enforcing no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq since the end of the Gulf War in 1991. Iraq regards the zones violations of its territorial sovereignty and has been challenging the patrols since December 1998.