Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)
Jan. 4, 2003
Release 03-01-06
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
COALITION FORCES TARGET IRAQI COMMUNICATIONS SITES
MACDILL AFB, FL -- In response to Iraqi hostile acts against Coalition aircraft monitoring compliance of United Nations Security Council Resolutions over Southern Iraq, Operation SOUTHERN WATCH Coalition aircraft used precision-guided weapons today to target three Iraqi military air defense cable repeater sites. The Coalition struck the sites at approximately 2:15 p.m. EST. The repeaters were located near An Nasiriyah, which is approximately 170 miles southeast of Baghdad.
Target battle damage assessment is ongoing.
Coalition strikes in the no-fly zones are executed as a self-defense measure in response to Iraqi hostile threats and acts against Coalition forces and their aircraft. The Coalition targeted the communications sites after Iraqi air defense forces fired multiple anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles at Coalition aircraft patrolling the Southern No-Fly Zone.
The last Operation Southern Watch strike was Thursday when Coalition aircraft used precision-guided weapons to target Iraqi military air defense cable repeaters southeast of Al Kut, after Iraqi air defense forces fired anti-aircraft artillery at Coalition aircraft.
Coalition aircraft never target civilian populations or infrastructure and go to painstaking lengths to avoid injury to civilians and damage to civilian facilities.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
