Operation Southern Watch
1996 Events

• 4 November 1996 -- A Southern Watch F-16CJ fired a HARM at an Iraqi mobile missile radar near the 32d parallel after the pilot received radar warning signals.
• 2 November 1996 -- A Southern Watch F-16CJ fired a HARM at an Iraqi mobile missile radar near the 32d parallel after the pilot received radar warning signals. Later analysis indicated the Iraqi radar had not tracked the aircraft, a conclusion reversed on 4 November after further study by the Joint Staff.
• 4 September 1996 -- A US F-16 patrolling the extended Southern Watch no-fly zone fired a HARM at an Iraqi SA-8 air defense radar after the radar locked onto it. Four Navy ships launched 17 more cruise missiles against targets in southern Iraq.
• 3 September 1996 -- Retaliating for the Iraqi attack, the US launched 27 cruise missiles against targets in southern Iraq. Two Navy ships launched 14 Tomahawk missiles, while two B-52s fired 13 conventionally armed cruise missiles. The US also extended the Southern Watch no-fly zone to include all areas of Iraq south of the 33d parallel, one degree further north.
• 31 August 1996 -- Iraqi forces intervened in fighting between Kurdish factions in northern Iraq, helping the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) capture Irbil, the main Kurdish city in northern Iraq.