United States warplanes flying off an aircraft carrier in the Gulf struck targets in the southern area of Iraq, the US military said on Monday.
The attack occurred Sunday from fighter jets patrolling the no-fly zone in southern Iraq, Capt. Kendall L. Card, the commander of the USS Abraham Lincoln, told crewmembers in an announcement over the ship's public address system.
The US Central Command said in a statement on its website that coalition aircraft used precision-guided weapons to target two surface-to-air missile sites near Talil, some 280 kilometers southeast of the capital of Baghdad, in response to Iraqi hostile acts. There was no word from Baghdad on the strike.
The Central Command said damage assessment was ongoing. The airstrike came after Iraq moved the missiles into the no-fly zone, the statement said, cited by AP.
Two aircraft carrier battle groups, led by the USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS George Washington and each with around 10,000 sailors and Marines, are within striking distance of Iraq, and two more could join them by the year's end. The US Navy has accelerated training schedules for other warships. (Albawaba.com)
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