Iraq denies firing missile at U.S. spy plane

A U-2 spy plane similar to the one the U.S. says Iraq fired a missile at

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Baghdad on Saturday denied U.S. claims that Iraq fired a missile at a U.S. spy plane in the southern no-fly zone earlier this week.

"The objective behind such American claims is to create pretexts and justifications to undertake a new air raid on Iraqi radar sites and defenses,'' a spokesman from Iraq's Air Defense told the state-run news agency, INA.

The anonymous spokesman said what Iraq had fired at on July 24 was an American F-15 fighter. Iraqi television showed pictures of what it said was a missile being fired at the F-15. Soldiers were seen singing in a circle, after the missile shot into the air.

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The U.S. Pentagon said the missile was aimed at and almost hit a U.S. U-2 spy plane, and Washington has said it is planning a military response. The Pentagon said this attempted shoot-down is the latest of about two dozen attempts by Iraq to shoot down reconnaissance planes this year.

While the United States bombs Iraqi air defenses regularly, the sources said targets this time will likely include early warning radars that Iraq uses to track the high-flying, slow-moving U-2s.

The Iraqi Air Defense spokesman said ''while we confirm our right to defend the sovereignty of our land... we denounce America's misleading the world with false information.''

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was seen on television Saturday, meeting with the head of Iraq's Air Forces. INA reported the Iraqi leader praised the Air Defense forces ''for protecting Iraq from the evil of the Americans and Zionists...''