U.S. Warplanes Strike Iraqi Missile Site

U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jets bombed a
surface-to-air missile site in southern Iraq
Tuesday, U.S. officials said. The attack took
place near the town of An Nasiriyah, some 170
miles south east of Baghdad.

August 15, 2001

U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jets bombed a
surface-to-air missile site in southern Iraq
Tuesday, U.S. officials said.

The attack took place near the town of An
Nasiriyah, some 170 miles south east of Baghdad.

The target area included Soviet-made SA-2
anti-aircraft missiles, with their launchers, fire
control radars and associated command and control
structures, according to officials who asked they
not be identified.

The mobile SA-2 missiles had been a thorn in
the side of U.S. pilots and commanders in the
region, who have reported that Iraqi forces had
been regularly re-locating the site in their
ongoing effort to surprise and down a U.S. or
British warplane patrolling the southern no-fly
zone, defense officials revealed.

All U.S. and British strike and support
aircraft returned safely to their bases in Kuwait
and Saudi Arabia following the strike, the
officials said.

The United States and its coalition partner
Great Britain have stepped up efforts of late to
degrade the integrated air defense system
throughout Iraq since Iraq has, for the last five
months, been aggressively attempting to down a
coalition aircraft, the Pentagon has said.

The U.S. and Britain launched significant air
attacks against three Iraqi air defense sites last
Friday.

Those strikes included a total of about 50
aircraft including 18 strike planes flying from
bases in the region and the aircraft carrier USS
Enterprise sailing in the Persian Gulf.

Pentagon officials said Tuesday that Iraqi air
defense units now appear to be focusing on downing
a U.S. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) known as a
"Predator."

The Predator is a pilotless airborne
reconnaissance aircraft used in Iraq to gather
intelligence on the movement of Iraqi military
forces and air defense units.

It flies at a cruising speed of less than 100 miles
per hour and typically flies at an altitude of less
than 15,000 feet, making it an easy target for
advanced air defense systems such as the one fielded
by Iraq.

When was the last time the U.S. Bombed Iraq? –http://www.ccmep.org/us_bombing_watch.html

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