U.S. airplanes attacked three air defense installations Saturday south and east of Baghdad after Iraqi military jets violated the southern no-fly zone, the U.S. Central Command said.
It added the U.S. jets used "precision guided weapons" against the three sites in response to Iraqi threats. The military said it hit targets at al-Kut, 160 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, Qal'at Sukkar, 260 kilometers southeast of the capital and al-Amarah, 255 kilometers to the east-southeast.
"They (the Iraqi warplanes) went south. I cannot begin to ascertain what their motivation was in doing so other than plainly violating the zone," Central Command spokesman Maj. Pete Mitchell told AP.
Meanwhile, exiled Iraqi opposition groups commenced formal talks Saturday to craft a strategy for governing their nation should Saddam Hussein be ousted from power.
The dissidents have been deadlocked over the composition and role of an interim administration and the question of who would keep the peace should Saddam's regime fall.
In opening remarks to the conference in London, Hoshyar Zibari of the Kurdistan Democratic Party said "tremendous challenges face ... this conference, which aims to reach a common vision for Iraq's future."
"I think the future of Iraq will be democratic, pluralistic and federal. After the toppling of the regime there will be a democratic system that will be fair for all its citizens," Jalal Talabani, the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, told AP on arrival at the conference. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
