Coalition planes bomb Iraqi air defenses

INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey (CNN) -- Coalition aircraft dropped ordnance on elements of the Iraqi air defense system after Iraqi forces fired anti-aircraft rounds at them, the U.S. European Command said Monday.

The incident occurred in the northern no-fly zone of Iraq near Mosul, U.S. officials said.

The coalition aircraft were unharmed, the report said.

There was no immediate response from Iraq.

U.S. and British aircraft have been enforcing no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq since the end of the Gulf War in 1991.

The no-fly zones were created by the United Nations to protect Kurds and other citizens in northern Iraq and Shiite Muslims in the south.

Aircraft that enforce the northern no-fly zone are based at Turkey's Incirlik Air Base.

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