NICOSIA Ñ Iraq has reinforced its troops in the north
and west of the country and is erecting fortifications in uninhabited areas thought to be used for the development of weapons of mass destruction.
Western intelligence sources confirmed earlier reports that Iraq has
moved troops near the border with Jordan. The sources said the troops,
backed by tanks and armored personnel carriers, were constructing
fortifications in the western desert along the frontier with Jordan. The
area is largely uninhabited and is said to contain Iraqi weapons of mass
destruction facilities.
Opposition sources said Saddam ordered fresh troops to reinforce
positions near the Kurdish autonomous zone in the north, Middle East Newsline reported. The sources said
the military has also brought artillery, infantry fighting vehicles and
armored personnel carriers into the areas of Mosul and Kirkuk in a
redeployment that appeared to have been launched last month.
Iraq has also shut down oil operations in the area of northern Iraq to
prepare for a U.S. attack. Sources said operations were suspended in the
area of Kirkuk, just outside the autonomous Kurdish zone. Instead, Iraqi
troops have constructed fortifications to protect armored vehicles.
The Iraqi troop reinforcement comes as Britain and the United States
resumed patrols of the no-fly zone in southern Iraq. On Wednesday, U.S. and
British warplanes were reported to have completed 12 sorties near the
Kuwaiti border.
An Iraqi military spokesman said the planes did not attack ground
targets. The spokesman said the allied jets were accompanied by a U.S.
Airborne Warning and Command System [AWACS] aircraft.
