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No-fly zone hit third time in three days
From Barbara Starr
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Coalition aircraft dropped precision bombs early Monday on an Iraqi communications site near Al Kut, about 100 miles southeast of Baghdad. It was the third such strike the past three days by U.S. and British warplanes patrolling the southern no-fly zone. U.S. defense officials told CNN coalition aircraft in recent days noticed Iraqis had repositioned three surface-to-air missile launchers in the no-fly zone -- the largest number of launchers seen in the area in months. According to the U.S. Central Command, Monday's strike specifically was in response to the movements of a mobile radar into the no-fly zone and the firing of Iraqi anti-aircraft artillery. The latest action by coalition aircraft also included another drop of leaflets urging Iraqi military troops not to fire on the patrolling aircraft. It was the seventh drop in the past three months. The leaflets were dropped at six locations, including some near communications facilities damaged or destroyed by coalition aircraft flying Operation Southern Watch missions December 14 near Al Kut and other areas southeast of Baghdad. For the first time, one version of the leaflets referred Iraqis to radio frequencies where they could hear broadcasts by coalition forces encouraging them not to fire against aircraft patrolling the no-fly zones, to stay away from certain locations, and not to repair fiber optic cables. On Sunday, coalition aircraft dropped precision weapons on Iraqi mobile radar and cable repeater sites near An Nasiriyah, 100 miles southeast of Baghdad, and Basra, 245 miles southeast of Baghdad. The strike also was said by Central Command to be in response to artillery fire from Iraqi forces and the presence of a portable radar unit in the area. The radar and cable repeater could be used to coordinate the firing of surface-to-air weapons. The bombing of cable repeater stations is considered critical because that technology allows for more rapid transmission of firing orders and other communications among the Iraqi military. On December 14, coalition aircraft targeted multiple Iraqi air defense communications facilities near Al Kut; near Qal'at Sukkar, 170 miles southeast of Baghdad; and at Al Amarah, 165 miles southeast of Baghdad. The strikes were said by Central Command to have been carried out in response to Iraqi aircraft violating the no-fly zone. Military officials said Iraqi aircraft Friday flew in the southern no-fly zone in what may have been an effort to lure U.S. and British aircraft into the range of a surface-to-air missile launcher, a technique known as a "SAM-trap." Officials said that possibility is an intelligence assessment and not a definitive finding.
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