American planes bomb Basra civilian airport
- From: "Muslim News" <editor_@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <submit@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 28 Sep 2002 22:12:17 +0100
BAGHDAD, Sept 26: Iraq said on Thursday US warplanes had raided Basra
civilian airport and damaged its radar system, in the latest attack by
Western jets enforcing no-fly zones over Iraq. The United States
confirmed it attacked the airport , saying it had targeted a military
radar there.
Iraq's state-run satellite television quoted a government spokesman as
saying the attack on the airport at Basra, 480kms southeast of Baghdad,
took place on Wednesday night.
The airport occupies a large area in the strategic Basra province, home
to Iraq's main port at the mouth of the Gulf and major oil
installations.
"The raids destroyed the main radar system in the airport as well as
damaging the main service building at the airport," the television said.
It was the second attack on Basra airport's radar system.
US F-16 warplanes destroyed the system in August last year. US defence
officials said at the time the warplanes attacked a military radar as
part of a concerted strategy to destroy Iraq's air defences, which
regularly fire at Western warplanes.
Baghdad said on Wednesday US and British jets attacked civilian targets
in the south of the country the day before and one civilian was wounded.
In Washington, a Pentagon spokesman said early damage assessments of the
Basra attack showed the US jets had destroyed the military radar that
was the target of the raid.
"The Basra strike did take place at a civilian airfield but it was
directed at a military radar located on the civilian airfield,"
Lieutenant Colonel Dave Lapan told Reuters.
"The strike was directed at the radar which has threatened coalition
aircraft." He said US aircraft also struck a target near Al Kufa,
located about 130kms south of Baghdad.
US aircraft, along with British jets, police two no-fly zones in
northern and southern Iraq set up after the 1991 war.
The Iraqi News Agency reported President Saddam Hussein chaired a
meeting of top Iraqi officials hours after Wednesday's attack. The INA
said they discussed "the current political situation", but gave no
further details.
Source: Reuters
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