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Situation in Iraq

July 30, 1999
Web posted at: 2:32 p.m. EDT (1832 GMT)

From staff and wire reports

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq said nine people were killed and 23 injured in U.S.-British air attacks in the country's northern and southern no-fly zones on Friday.

The dead were "martyred... because of the enemy British and American planes' attacks on our service and civilian facilities," Iraq's official news agency, INA, reported.

The Iraqi News Agency quoted a military spokesman as saying six people were killed and 21 injured in the north while three died and two were injured in the south.

The U.S. European Command in Germany said earlier Friday that U.S. planes patrolling the northern no-fly zone bombed anti- aircraft installations after coming under fire. There was no Western report of an attack in the southern no-fly zone.

The Iraqi military spokesman, referring to the southern attacks, said, "Twenty-two hostile formations ... flew over regions in Basra, Muthanna, Dhi Qar, Najaf and Meisan and attacked our service and civilian installations."

The spokesman added that "Eleven hostile formations... flew over regions in Duhok, Arbil and Nineveh provinces."

On Thursday, eight people were killed and 26 injured in Western bombing attacks in both no-fly zones, according to Iraq.

Planes from the United States and Britain patrol the two restricted air spaces, set up after the 1991 Persian Gulf War to protect Kurdish rebels in the north and Shiite Muslims in the south.

Iraq does not recognize the zones and has been challenging patrol planes since late December. Coalition planes have attacked more than 400 Iraqi targets since then.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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