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Blanchard

Iraq strengthens aid defense systems in North

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Tuesday, February 12, 2002

LONDON Ñ Iraq is said to have bolstered its air defense network with additional radar systems and anti-aircraft batteries.

U.S. officials said Iraq has moved anti-aircraft assets to the north near the Turkish border over the last few weeks. The officials said the new systems have enabled the Iraqi military to quickly respond to allied air patrols of the no-fly zone in northern Iraq.

Iraq has stepped up missile fire on U.S. and British warplanes that patrol the no-fly zone in northern Iraq. U.S. officials said that the rapid Iraqi response has limited the allied patrols.

"The Iraqi anti-aircraft system doesn't threaten us, but it's getting better and we don't want to take any chances," a U.S. official said.

The officials said the regime of President Saddam Hussein has pressured Kurds to allow the military to deploy anti-aircraft batteries in the northern autonomous zone. The officials said the systems contain radars linked via fiber optic cable.

The Pentagon has been arguing for a major strike against Iraqi anti-aircraft batteries as part of an effort to maintain United Nations sanctions on Baghdad. The sanctions would include the maintenance of no-fly zones in both northern and southern Iraq.

Iraq is believed to have at least 25 SA-3 and 10 SA-6 surface-to-air missile batteries. Many of the batteries were connected to long-range radar via fiber-optic cable.

In Baghdad, Saddam met the commander of the Iraqi air defense unit, Lt. Gen. Hamed Reda. The official Iraqi news agency said Sunday's meeting was the latest of a series of sessions to prepare for any U.S. military attack on Iraq. The agency said Saddam praised what he termed was the effort to improve air defense and air force capabilities.

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