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U.S. Strikes Iraq Anti-Ship Missile Site
U.S. warplanes struck an anti-ship missile launcher in southern Iraq Monday, the Pentagon said. The planes used precision-guided weapons to strike the missile launcher near Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, U.S. Central Command said in a statement. The planes struck the missile launcher at about 4:10 a.m. EST Monday because it was a threat to U.S. and coalition naval forces in the northern Persian Gulf, the command said. No-sail zone? The strike was in the southern no-fly zone set up to protect Shiite Muslims from Saddam Hussein's military. Iraq calls the zones violations of its sovereignty and frequently tries unsuccessfully to shoot down American warplanes. Before Monday, the last U.S. airstrike on Iraq occurred Friday, when warplanes struck an air defense command and control site near Tallil, about 170 miles southeast of Baghdad, and four communications stations to the south. We have either; 1. Run out of civilian targets to bomb. 2. Begun clearing the way for the naval invasion 3. Begun making Saddam think we are clearing the way for the naval invasion Posted by: Steve 2003-01-13 |
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