HEADQUARTERS,
UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND
7115 South Boundary Boulevard
MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101
Phone: (813) 828-5894; FAX: (813) 840-5629; DSN 968-5894
August 10, 1999
RELEASE NUMBER: 99-08-02
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COALITION AIRCRAFT STRIKE IN RESPONSE TO IRAQI THREAT
MACDILL AFB, FL - At approximately 9:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time today, U.S. Air Force F-16 "Fighting Falcon" and A-10 "Thunderbolt," U.S. Navy F/A-18 "Hornet" and F-14 "Tomcat" aircraft enforcing the Southern No-Fly Zone used precision guided munitions to strike three Iraqi anti-aircraft artillery sites and two Iraqi military radar sites.
The coalition strikes were conducted near the towns of Al Amarah, An Nasiriyah, As Samawah and Ar Rumaylah. All aircraft have returned safely to their bases and battle damage assessment is ongoing.
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The strikes were in response to Iraqi anti-aircraft artillery fire directed at Coalition aircraft patrolling the Southern No-Fly Zone earlier today. Over the course of the last two weeks, the Iraqis have fired a surface-to-air missile at coalition aircraft and repeatedly directed anti-aircraft artillery fire at planes patrolling the no-fly zone. Over this same period of time, in violation of UN sanctions, Iraqi aircraft have violated the no-fly zone several times in an obvious attempt to draw coalition aircraft into known Iraqi surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery threat areas.
These hostile acts represent the latest of more than 115 no-fly zone violations and more than 90 incidents involving Iraqi surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft artillery and target tracking radar illuminations against coalition aircraft in the Southern No-Fly Zone since Operation Desert Fox.
U.S. and coalition aircraft are part of Operation Southern Watch and are responsible for enforcing United Nations sanctions and restrictions of the no-fly zones in Iraq. Despite repeated warnings, Iraqi actions and intentions pose serious threats to our forces and friends in the region and, our actions today are an appropriate response to these violations and support UN mandates.
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