Iraq Says Allied Planes Attacked Civilian Areas in Southern Region
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BAGHDAD — Iraq said Sunday that U.S. and British warplanes had attacked civilian targets in the south of the country, but it reported no casualties.
An Iraqi defense spokesman said in a statement carried by the official Iraqi News Agency that U.S. and British planes enforcing a “no-fly” zone flew more than 100 sorties over a number of Iraqi cities in the south overnight and into Sunday.
A spokesman at the U.S. Central Command said he was unaware of any strike on Iraq after Saturday.
“Our last strike was last night,” the spokesman in Florida said.
The Iraqi statement said the planes bombed “civilian installations” in Basra and Dhi Qar provinces. The report said Iraqi air defenses fired at the planes.
Both the United States and Britain have massed forces in the Persian Gulf region for a possible invasion of Iraq.
No-fly zones were established after the 1991 Persian Gulf War to protect Kurds in northern Iraq and Shiite Muslims in the south. Iraq insists the air patrols violate international law.
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