World

More Clashes Above Iraq

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

January 28, 1999 / 6:55 PM EST / CBS

After a one-day break in hostilities, U.S. aircraft fired on several air defense sites in Iraq's northern and southern no-fly zones Tuesday.

A spokesman in Turkey said the U.S. aircraft "acted in self-defense" and fired missiles and guided bombs at an Iraqi radar site and two anti-aircraft artillery batteries near the city of Mosul in the country's northern no-fly zone.

The U.S. Defense Department reported two similar strikes earlier in the day in the same region, and another pair of attacks on Iraqi targets in the southern no-fly zone.

The U.S. spokesman in Turkey said there was no damage to U.S. planes involved in the attacks, while damage to the Iraqi targets was being assessed.

Over the weekend, there was an apparent escalation of tensions in the no-fly zones, with six separate clashes recorded on Saturday and two more on Sunday.

The frequency of such skirmishes rose sharply after a fierce 4-day bombing campaign was launched in December to punish Iraq for hindering the work of U.N. arms inspectors. After the campaign, Iraq asserted the no-fly zones were a violation of its sovereignty.

However, after weeks of unsuccessfully trying to shoot down an American plane, Saddam Hussein has pulled most of his best anti-aircraft missiles out of the no-fly zones, reports CBS News National Security Correspondent David Martin.

All but two of the high altitude SA-2 and SA-3 missiles have been pulled back to the Baghdad and Tikrit area. There are still a number of mobile SA-6 sites unaccounted for and a large number of anti-aircraft guns in the no-fly zones.

Pentagon officials speculate that Saddam has decided he cannot afford to lose any more of his SA-2s and SA-3s, but that he has not given up trying to get off a lucky shot that will bring down an American plane.

Iraq's government newspaper al-Jumhouriya said on Monday that Baghdad would continue to challenge U.S. and British warplanes.

"The great Iraqi people and leadership will continue to resist any American-British aggression without retreat," it said.

According to published reports, Saddam has offered his soldiers a $14,000 reward to shoot down a U.S. warplane. The prize for capturing a U.S. pilot was $2,500.