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
April 6, 2000
RELEASE NUMBER: 04-06-02
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COALITION AIRCRAFT STRIKE IRAQI MILITARY TARGETS IN THE SOUTH
MACDILL AFB, FL - - At approximately 8:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, U.S. Air Force F-16 "Fighting Falcons," U.S. Navy and U.S Marine Corps F/A-18 "Hornets," U.S. Navy F-14 "Tomcats," and British Royal Air Force GR-1 "Tornados" enforcing the Southern No-Fly Zone used precision-guided weapons to strike anti-aircraft artillery batteries in southern Iraq.
All coalition aircraft have returned safely and battle damage assessment is ongoing.
The coalition strikes came in response to repeated anti-aircraft artillery fire against coalition aircraft earlier today. Coalition aircraft struck sites near Ar Rumaylah, approximately 225 miles southeast of Baghdad; Al Kut, approximately 95 miles southeast of Baghdad; and Al Basrah, approximately 245 miles southeast of Baghdad.
To date, there have been more than 460 separate incidents of Iraqi surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery fire directed against coalition pilots since December 1998. Iraqi aircraft violated the Southern No-Fly Zone more than 160 times during the same period.
The last coalition strike was against Iraqi military radar sites, a surface-to-air missile battery and several anti-aircraft batteries on April 4.
Coalition aircraft do not target civilian populations or infrastructure and seek to avoid injury to civilians and damage to civilian facilities.
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