U.S. strikes have taken out one of the
most significant Iraqi military assets attacked by allied planes in the past year.
U.S. officials said allied warplanes damaged an Iraqi command and
control facility on Friday. They said the facility provided information on
U.S. and British fighter-jets in southern Iraq, Middle East Newsline reported.
"This facility was struck because it helped direct anti-aircraft
artillery attacks today against coalition aircraft authorized by the U.N.
Security Council to enforce the no-fly zone in southern Iraq," a U.S.
Central Command statement said.
U.S. defense sources said the command and control center was linked to
radar and anti-aircraft artillery and missile batteries in southern Iraq.
The Iraqi facility was located in southern Iraq. But officials did not
provide the exact location or the extent of the damage.
Officials said U.S. fighter-jets dropped precision-guided weapons to
strike facilities of a military offensive command and control center.
The sources said the center represented an emerging threat to U.S. aircraft
that enforced the no-fly zone in southern Iraq.
In Baghdad, President Saddam Hussein praised what he termed were
achievements of the nation's military industry. Saddam did not elaborate but
the reference appeared to include the improvements of Iraq's air defense
system, including the development of a mobile anti-aircraft battery.
