Iraq: Coalition airstrike kills 8

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Eight Iraqis were killed and nine others wounded in U.S. and British airstrikes on civilian installations in southern Iraq, an Iraqi military spokesman said Sunday.

The U.S. Central Command said in a statement that the jets fired in self-defense after being targeted by Iraqi forces, and that damage is being assessed.

"In response to recent Iraqi hostile acts against coalition aircraft monitoring the Southern No-Fly Zone, Operation Southern Watch Coalition aircraft used precision-guided weapons today (Sunday) to strike two air-defense radar systems near Al Basrah in southern Iraq, approximately 2:30 a.m. EDT," the statement said.

"Target battle damage assessment is ongoing," the statement added.

In a statement to the Iraqi News Agency, the Iraqi spokesman said U.S. and British planes from Kuwait dropped bombs on civilian areas in the southern region of Basra.

"The attack led to the martyrdom of eight civilians and wounding of nine others," said the spokesman, who added "our missile and ground forces forced the planes to leave our airspace."

-- CNN's James Martone contributed to this story.