U.S. and British warplanes attacked a "civilian and services installation" in northern Iraq Thursday, killing one civilian, the official Iraqi News Agency said.
A military spokesman told the agency the attack in Nineveh province, some 400 kilometers north of Baghdad, occurred at 11:05 a.m. (0805 GMT).
A statement released by the U.S.-led Operation Northern Watch headquarters in Turkey said coalition aircraft on Thursday dropped precision guided bombs in response to Iraqi anti-aircraft artillery fire from sites south of Tall Afar, a town in Nineveh province.
Meanwhile, US planes dropped 360,000 leaflets over southern Iraq warning that attacks on US and British war planes patrolling no-fly zones could lead to air strikes, military officials said.
Three different leaflets were dropped over unmanned communication facilities between Al Kut and Basra, about 160-240 kilometers south of Baghdad, the US Central Command said in a statement, according to AFP.
All of the sites were targeted by US and British jets during raids on November 22. "Two leaflets urged Iraqi military not to repair the communication equipment and facilities that aid in tracking and engaging coalition aircraft," said the statement.
The leaflets said Iraqis should not try to repair fibre optic cables and warned those who do: "You are risking your life."The cables are tools used to suppress the Iraqi people by Saddam and his regime, they are targeted for destruction," said the leaflets, which were written in Arabic.
A third leaflet stated that the US-British aircraft patrol the no-fly zones, which have been enforced since the 1991 Gulf War, "to protect the Iraqi people". "Threatening these coalition aircraft has a consequence. The attacks may destroy you or any location of coalition choosing. Will it be you or your brother? You decide," said a translation of the leaflets distributed by the Central Command. (Albawaba.com)
