U.S., British aircraft strike radars in Iraq 'no-fly' zone

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 Kyodo

U.S. and British warplanes patrolling Iraq's southern no-fly zone bombed two Iraqi military mobile radars Monday, the U.S. military said.

The coalition aircraft struck the targets, located near Al Amarah, about 260 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, after Iraqi forces moved the radars into the southern no-fly zone, the U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Florida, said in a statement.

The last coalition strike in the southern no-fly zone took place Saturday against Iraqi military air defense communications facilities.

The southern no-fly zone was set up after the 1991 Persian Gulf War to protect Kurdish rebels in the north and Shiite Muslims in the south from attacks by President Saddam Hussein's troops.

Iraq insists the creation of the no-fly zones is a violation of its sovereignty.

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