World

U.S., Iraqis Skirmish, Again

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

August 28, 1999 / 3:46 PM EDT / CBS

U.S. warplanes bombed an Iraqi military site Saturday after being fired upon by ground troops, reports CBS News Correspondent Cami McCormick. Baghdad has challenged the aerial patrols regularly since the end of last year.

The pilots patrolling the northern Iraq no-fly zone struck a military radar site near Mosul, Iraq. The American response came after the planes met with anti-aircraft fire and were targeted by Iraqi radar, the U.S. European Command said.

No planes were hit and damage to the Iraqi installations was still being assessed, according to a statement.

The fighter planes dropped precision-guided bombs about 250 miles south of Baghdad. They also fired missiles at another missle-guidance installation.


F-16 warplanes patrol the Iraq no-fly zone

U.S. and British jets have been enforcing no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq that were set up after the 1991 Gulf War to protect Kurdish and Muslim Shiite minorities from the forces of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Baghdad has challenged the planes regularly since Dec. 28, saying the zones violate its sovereignty. As a result, skirmishes between Allied jets and Iraqi ground and air forces have become almost routine.