DATE=8/12/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=IRAQ / RAID (L-UPDATE)
NUMBER=2-265394
BYLINE=SCOTT BOBB
DATELINE=CAIRO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The government of Iraq says U-S and British
warplanes have attacked a town in southern Iraq, and
reports from the region say one person was killed and
20 wounded. The U-S Central Command says the raid was
carried out in response to Iraqi anti-aircraft fire
and targeted military installations in the area. V-O-
A's Scott Bobb reports from our Middle East bureau.
TEXT: The Iraqi Information Ministry says the raid
took place overnight on the town of Samawah, 270
kilometers south of Baghdad. A statement issued
Saturday said houses and other civilian buildings were
hit.
U-S and British warplanes clash almost daily with
Iraqi air defenses over no-fly zones set up following
the Gulf war. Iraq says 300 civilians have been
killed and nearly 900 wounded in such attacks in the
past 18 months.
Iraq does not recognize the no-fly zones, which were
set up to protect dissident populations in these
regions.
The reported attack occurred hours after Venezuelan
President Hugo Chavez ended the first visit by a
foreign head-of-state to Iraq since the Gulf war 10
years ago. President Chavez flew by helicopter late
Friday to a border post northeast of Baghdad, where he
crossed into Iran.
The visit was part of a tour by the Venezuelan
president of major oil exporting countries prior to an
OPEC summit in Caracas next month. The Iraqi news
agency says the Venezuelan president met with Iraqi
President Saddam Hussein, during which they criticized
Western pressure on the Venezuelan leader to cancel
his visit.
The Iraqi news media have hailed the visit as a
breakthrough and a weakening of the international
isolation of Iraq. (Signed)
NEB/SB/ALW/JP
12-Aug-2000 12:02 PM LOC (12-Aug-2000 1602 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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