COALITION STRIKES IRAQI OFFENSIVE AIR SITE
June 14, 2002 Release 02-06-04
MACDILL AFB, FL In response to Iraqi attacks on Coalition aircraft monitoring the Southern No-Fly Zone yesterday, aircraft from Operation SOUTHERN WATCH used precision-guided weapons today to strike facilities of an offensive command and control system at approximately 5:20 a.m. EDT.
The facilities struck today had been targeted because they were used to direct yesterday’s attack against the Coalition aircraft monitoring the no-fly zone in southern Iraq.
Coalition strikes in the No-Fly Zones are executed as a self-defense measure in response to hostile Iraqi acts against Coalition forces and their aircraft. The last Coalition response to Iraqi attacks on aircraft monitoring the Southern No-Fly Zone occurred May 30, 2002.
Coalition aircraft never target civilian populations or infrastructure and go to painstaking lengths to avoid injury to civilians or damage to civilian facilities.
