U.S-U.K Planes Attack
Civilian Targets
Iraqi News Agency
9/22/99

Baghdad, Sept 22, INA (18:00)

Twenty-six formations of U.S and U.K warplanes on Tuesday carried out 16 sorties from Kuwaiti airspace, backed by an A-2C and 40 sorties from Saudi airspace, backed by an AWACS, flying over the provinces of Basra, Thi-Qar, Muthanna, Najaf, Qadissiya and Wassit.

An Air Defences Command spokesman said the enemy planes had attacked service and civilian installations. Iraqi jet fighters and anti-aircraft defences confronted the hostile planes, forcing them to flee back to their bases.

The spokesman added that 8 other formations had conducted 16 sorties from Turkey, with the support of an AWACS, over Arbil, Duhok and Nineveh. Iraqi anti-aircraft fire drove these planes out of national airspace.

Since December 17, 1998 and up to September 21, 1999, the U.S and British planes carried out a total of 12,739 sorties over Iraq, of which 10356 from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and 2383 from Turkey.