Coalition strikes after no-fly zone violations
Released: 19 Mar 1999
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFPN) -- Iraqi aircraft violated the southern no-fly zone March 19, prompting coalition air strikes against radar and communications sites.
At about 2 a.m. EST, Air Force F-16CG Fighting Falcon, and British RAF GR-1 Tornado aircraft struck an Iraqi military radar site near As Shuaybah, about 290 miles southeast of Baghdad, and a military communications site about 230 miles southeast of Baghdad in the vicinity of Muzalbah.
No coalition aircraft were damaged during the incident, and battle damage assessment is ongoing.
Speaking of the no-fly zone violations, a U.S. Central Command statement said, "These Iraqi hostile acts were the latest of more than 140 provocations by Saddam Hussein in the southern no-fly zone since the end of Operation Desert Fox.
"In response to Iraqi aggression, coalition pilots have taken appropriate actions to defend themselves, and they will continue to defend themselves by targeting Iraq's air defense network as long as it threatens coalition planes or forces in the region."
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