Iraq says U.S. and British planes bomb north

BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) -- U.S. and British planes bombed targets in northern Iraq on Tuesday, their third raid in five days, an Iraqi military spokesman said.

The spokesman, quoted by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), said seven "enemy formations" flew over the provinces of Duhouk, Arbil and Ninveh at 11:20 a.m. (0720 GMT), attacking civilian and service installations.

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The spokesman did not specify exactly where the planes struck or mention any casualties, but he said Iraqi air defense units fired on the jets and forced them to return to their bases.

There was no immediate word on the report from Washington or London.

Last Saturday U.S. and British planes launched two nights of raids on the southern town of Samawa, 270 kilometers (168 miles) south of Baghdad, hitting government warehouses and a rail station.

Two civilians were killed and 22 wounded in the raids, the first into Iraq in six weeks.

U.S. and British planes patrol no-fly zones over southern and northern Iraq set up after the 1991 Gulf War. The zones, which Baghdad does not recognize, were imposed to protect a Kurdish enclave in the north and Shi'ite Moslems in the south from possible attacks by Iraqi government forces.

The planes have been bombing targets in the no-fly zones frequently since Baghdad stepped up its defiance of the Western- imposed restrictions in December 1998. Iraq says 300 civilians have been killed and 900 wounded in these attacks.

Russia sharply criticized the United States and Britain on Tuesday for last week's air strikes, saying the attacks would only increase tensions in the region.

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