ANKARA, Turkey – U.S. jets struck Iraqi air defense systems in the northern no-fly zone Wednesday May 23, after coming under Iraqi anti-aircraft fire, the U.S. military said in a statement.
ANKARA, Turkey – U.S. jets struck Iraqi air defense systems in the northern no-fly zone Wednesday May 23, after coming under Iraqi anti-aircraft fire, the U.S. military said in a statement.
The U.S. warplanes were conducting routine patrols when the Iraqi military fired from sites north and west of Mosul, some 250 miles north of Baghdad, the Germany-based U.S. European Command said in a statement.
All warplanes left the area safely, the statement added.
The Iraqi news agency, quoting a military official, confirmed the air raid and reported no casualties.
The United States and Britain have been enforcing no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq since the end of the Gulf War in 1991. The planes patrolling the northern zone are based in the southern Turkish air base of Incirlik.
Iraq considers the zones to be violations of its territorial sovereignty and has been challenging the patrols since December 1998.
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News Service: AP
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