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Sources: Iraq digs in with more bunkers

It is unclear whether the recent Iraqi effort is in  response to U.S. talk of launching a military attack
It is unclear whether the recent Iraqi effort is in response to U.S. talk of launching a military attack  


From Barbara Starr
CNN Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Iraq has embarked on a program to "dig in," building more earthen bunkers and revetments to protect aircraft, trucks, armored vehicles, missiles launchers and a wide variety of military equipment, military sources have told CNN.

Intelligence assets have observed this activity over the past two months, and there is no indication it has let up, the sources said on Friday. This type of activity has been a longtime technique of the Iraqis, dating back to before the war in the Persian Gulf, but was largely unsuccessful against U.S. precision weapons.

The sources said it is impossible to know if the current Iraqi effort is specifically in response to international talk of the United States launching a military attack against Iraq.

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In addition, defense officials said there is intelligence evidence Iraq has again approached Iran with a request that Tehran return the more than one dozen Iraqi air force fighter aircraft that flew to Iran to escape the war in the Persian Gulf more than a decade ago. There is no indication that Iran will agree to that request.

Meanwhile, Iraq sent a letter to the United Nations, saying it is ready to discuss "practical arrangements" for the return of weapons inspectors.

It was a response to a letter from U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan telling Iraq it must comply with Security Council terms for the return of those inspectors. (Full story)

U.N. sanctions imposed on Iraq after it invaded Kuwait in 1990 will not be lifted until U.N. inspectors verify that all of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction have been destroyed.

Military movements in Iraq

Earlier this week, movement by Iraqi trucks and missiles had U.S. officials wondering if Baghdad was preparing for military action by the United States, sources told CNN. (Full story)

On Wednesday, sources said, a convoy of trucks moved into what the United States suspects to be an Iraqi biological weapons facility, raising concerns about what new activity might be taking place there.

The convoy, observed by spy satellites, entered a plant compound near Baghdad in the town of Taji, said officials. The site was bombed by U.S. planes during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, but was rebuilt and subsequently visited by U.N. weapons inspectors.

The Iraqis have said it is a meat processing plant.

U.S. intelligence aircraft noticed missile movements in central Iraq, including around Baghdad, which is not covered by the no-fly zones in which Iraq is prohibited from operating its air defense systems. Analysts believe Iraqi President Saddam Hussein would want to preserve his military equipment in the central part of the country.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Central Command said British and U.S. warplanes struck at military targets in Iraq Wednesday "in response to recent Iraqi hostile acts against coalition aircraft monitoring the southern no-fly zone." It said the aircraft targeted two military air defense targets with precision-guided missiles at about 5 p.m. EDT. The assessment of damage is ongoing.



 
 
 
 







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