Twelve family members were killed when the U.S. struck at a nearby radar site close to Jassan in the southern no-fly zone in Iraq VIDEO CNN's Jane Arraf reports on the bombing of Jassan in Northern Iraq. Windows Media 28K 80K  ALSO: U.S. pushing war crimes charges against Iraq's Saddam Hussein

August 18, 1999
Web posted at: 9:23 p.m. EDT (0123 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. fighter jets attacked an Iraqi radar installation below the northern no-fly zone, the first time since December that U.S. or British warplanes have struck an Iraqi site outside of the northern or southern no-fly zones, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

U.S. planes patrolling the northern zone on Tuesday were "illuminated" by an Iraqi radar site south of Mosul and south of the 36th parallel, which marks the lower boundary of the no-fly zone, a Pentagon official said. The fighters fired on the site because they were threatened, the official said.

Iraq said eight civilians were killed and nine people were injured in the strike.

The Pentagon spokesman said the attack was permitted under current "rules of engagement," and was not an escalation of military action against Iraq.

"Whenever our pilots detect a threat, they will respond appropriately," said Lt. Col. Vic Warzinski.

Southern Iraqi town also bombed

Also on Tuesday, U.S. warplanes bombed the southern Iraqi town of Jassan, in the southern no-fly zone. The U.S. planes attacked after being "provoked" by Iraqi military forces, the Pentagon said.

Iraq said as many as 14 civilians, including a family of 12, were killed in the bombing, which reduced one home to rubble. It was the first time coalition aircraft had struck the area, Iraq said. Jassan lies between the 32nd and the 33rd parallel, a region the United States and Britain added to the southern no-fly zone in 1984.

An Iraqi radar installation was seen across the highway from the destroyed home. It had only recently been brought to the town, residents said.

Residents of Jassan work together in the rubble left by the bombardment

Neighbors said they were awakened from their traditional afternoon sleep by the sound of airplanes.

"We rushed and that's when the first bomb hit," said Abbas Qathem. He said the plane returned a second time and dropped another bomb.

The local governor denied that Iraq had used the radar and said the attack was unprovoked.

The U.S. and Britain claim they have been granted authority to enforce the no-fly zones by the United Nations. The no- fly zones were originally established after the Gulf War to prevent Iraqi forces from repressing minority Kurds and Shiite Muslims.

Iraq does not recognize the no-fly zones and has repeatedly challenged patrols by U.S. and British planes since December by turning on hostile radar, firing surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft artillery at the patrolling planes and by occasionally flying their own fighters into the restricted zones.

Correspondent Jane Arraf and Producer Chris Plante contributed to this report.

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