Western warplanes strike Iraqi defences - US

Western warplanes attacked two anti-aircraft artillery sites in southern Iraq today, the third such strike in six days, a US …

Western warplanes attacked two anti-aircraft artillery sites in southern Iraq today, the third such strike in six days, a US military spokesman in the region said.

Coalition aircraft used precision-guided weapons to strike at two anti-aircraft artillery sites near Shahban about 360 km southeast of Baghdad, the spokesman said.

The strike, which follows similar attacks yesterday and last Thursday, was in response to recent hostile Iraqi threats against coalition aircraft, he said.

US spokesmen have previously used the phrase coalition aircraft to describe US and British military warplanes.