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Iraq moves attack aircraft to desert sites near Saudi border

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Monday, November 18, 2002

Iraq has moved military aircraft to underground shelters scattered across the desert near the Saudi border in what could mark preparations to launch a strike against Israel.

U.S. intelligence sources said Iraq has moved several dozen planes including the French-built Mirage F-1 fighter-jets and the Czech-origin L-29 light combat aircraft to the southwest near the Saudi border.

The Iraqis have deployed the aircraft in underground shelters over a large area in the desert near Jal Al Batan, the sources said. They said several of the L-29s have been converted into unmanned air vehicles that could deliver weapons of mass destruction.

The sources said the Iraqis began moving their aircraft at the end of October, Middle East Newsline reported.



The newly-deployed military assets could be used against U.S. targets in the Gulf and Israel, they said.

Saudi Arabia has banned U.S. warplanes from using the kingdom's air space for attacks on Iraq. The sources said this has made the Iraqi border with Saudi Arabia one of the safest places to store highly-valued Iraqi assets.

One scenario, the sources said, is that Iraq will fly airplanes full of chemical and biological weapons through Saudi air space toward Israel. They said Israel has been alerted to such a prospect.

Last week, Israeli military intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Aharon Ze'evi-Farkash told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that Iraq has been constructing a large facility to test engines for missiles.

Farkash said Iraq could attempt to launch either missiles or aircraft against Israel and said the Jewish state is prepared for these threats.

On Monday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz suggested that Washington's allies, including Israel, would be affected by any U.S.-led war against Baghdad. Aziz, interviewed on British television, did not elaborate.

Israeli officials said Iraq has shown signs of preparing its missile arsenal for any war against the United States. But they said Iraq has not deployed large amounts of troops or weapons outside Baghdad.

Zeevi-Farkash said the United States could launch a ground offensive in western Iraq to eliminate the missile threat against Israel. He said Washington will complete its military buildup of forces in the Persian Gulf region by the end of December. At that point, he said, the U.S. military will have 100,000 soldiers.

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