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Coalition fighters fire at Iraqi aircraft

Released: 5 Jan 1999

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WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- Coalition and Iraqi forces have clashed once again, this time in the skies over the southern part of the country.

This latest engagement at about 2:15 a.m. EST, Jan. 5, involved coalition aircraft flying Operation Southern Watch missions. They fired air-to-air missiles against Iraqi aircraft operating south of the 33rd parallel in the no-fly zone over Southern Iraq.

The engagements involved land-based Air Force F-15s and Navy F-14s assigned to the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier, currently on patrol in the Arabian Gulf in support of Southern Watch. All coalition aircraft returned safely.

A Department of Defense statement said, "There is no confirmation of any hits of Iraqi aircraft at this time, nor is there any indication of return fire from Iraqi aircraft."

Twice in late December, Iraqi ground forces fired missiles at coalition aircraft, only to face return fire from Air Force aircraft launching radar-seeking missiles and dropping precision-guided munitions.

The latest engagements, according to the DOD statement, "were a result of Iraqi violations of the southern no-fly zones. The southern no-fly zone was established in 1992 pursuant to United Nations Security Council resolutions to prevent Iraq from using its air assets against its own population or to threaten its neighbors. The no-fly zones have been effective in achieving these ends."

Sporadically, over the past six years, Iraq has challenged no-fly zone enforcement. In the aftermath of Operation Desert Fox, these challenges have increasingly taken the form of threats to coalition aircraft from Iraqi air defense assets and Iraqi aircraft operating in the no-fly zones.

Coalition aircraft continue to patrol the no-fly zone.

The DOD statement added, "Coalition forces will respond appropriately when the no-fly zones are violated, when coalition aircraft are threatened and when there are threats to our friends in the region."