U.S. Planes Hit Iraq in ‘No-Fly’ Region
WASHINGTON — U.S. planes bombed three air-defense communications facilities in southern Iraq on Wednesday after Iraqi gunners fired missiles and artillery at the aircraft, U.S. officials said.
The strikes hit facilities between Al Kut, about 100 miles southeast of Baghdad, and Basra, 275 miles southeast of the capital.
An Iraqi military spokesman said U.S. and British planes bombed “civilian and service installations†in Basra province. No casualties were reported.
U.S. planes have attacked six air-defense facilities this week. Pentagon officials say Iraq has stepped up efforts to shoot down U.S. and British pilots patrolling the “no-fly†zone over southern Iraq as U.N. weapons inspectors prepare to begin work.
Chief inspector Hans Blix, making a stopover in Cyprus on Wednesday after two days of talks in Baghdad, said that “businesslike†talks with Iraqi officials had set the stage for a new round of inspections starting next week, including possible unannounced drop-ins on President Saddam Hussein’s palaces.
Meanwhile in the Iraqi capital, the Ministry of Information suspended publication of Babel, a newspaper owned by Hussein’s elder son.
“The paper was ordered shut down for 30 days for violating the regulations,†an Iraqi official said on the condition of anonymity.
Media are tightly controlled in Iraq, but this ban was unusual because the paper is owned by Uday Hussein.
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