Iraq said today three people were killed when US and British planes flying from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait hit targets in the south of the country.
"At 21.45 p.m. (6.45 p.m. Irish time) yesterday, US and British warplanes violated our air space, carrying out six sorties from Saudi Arabia and five sorties from Kuwait", a military spokesman said in a statement carried by the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
The planes flew over areas in the provinces of Basra, Dhiqar, Meisan and Muthanna, Wassit, attacking service and civil installations in Basra province. The bombing led to the martyrdom of three people, the spokesman said.
He said Iraq's ground air defences fired on the planes and forced them to return to their bases.
US Central Command said in a statement yesterday that US and British aircraft had struck an anti-aircraft artillery site in southern Iraq in response to Iraqi hostile acts.
Western aircraft monitoring the southern no-fly zone struck the site at about 3:15 p.m. EDT (7.15 p.m. Irish time), and a damage assessment was being conducted, the statement said.
The strikes were in response to Iraqi threats and acts against coalition forces and their aircraft, the statement said.If Iraq were to cease its threatening actions, coalition strikes would cease as well, Central Command said.
The last western strike in the southern no-fly zone was against an Iraqi radar site on June 14th, the statement said.
US and British jets patrol no-fly zones set up after the expulsion of Iraqi troops from Kuwait in 1991 to protect Kurd dissidents in northern Iraq and anti-Baghdad Shi'ite Muslims in the south from attack by Baghdad forces.
Iraq does not recognise the no-fly zones and vowed in 1998 to challenge the patrols with anti-aircraft installations.