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NEWS RELEASE
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

February 9, 2000

RELEASE NUMBER: 00-02-02

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


COALITION AIRCRAFT STRIKE IRAQI MILITARY TARGETS


MACDILL AFB, FL - - At approximately 8:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time today, U.S. Navy F/A-18 "Hornet" and F-14 "Tomcat," U.S. Air Force F-16 "Fighting Falcon" and British Royal Air Force GR-1 "Tornado" aircraft enforcing the Southern No-Fly Zone used precision guided munitions to strike Iraqi military radar sites, anti-aircraft artillery sites and a surface-to-air missile site in southern Iraq.

Saddam Hussein continues to order his forces to shoot down coalition aircraft patrolling the No-Fly Zones. The strikes against the Iraqi military sites today were a measured response intended to degrade Iraq's ability to threaten coalition aircraft, while minimizing the potential for collateral damage and risk to civilians.

To date, there have been more than 440 separate incidents of Iraqi surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery fire directed against coalition pilots since Operation Desert Fox. Iraqi aircraft have violated the Southern No-Fly Zone more than 145 times during the same period.

Coalition aircraft do not target civilian populations or infrastructure and seek to avoid injury to civilians and damage to civilian facilities.




2/9/00 2:26:22 PM