WASHINGTON – American and British jets hit Iraqi radar in the no-fly zone yesterday, while U.N. weapons inspectors searched four suspicious sites in Iraq.
The jets used precision-guided weapons on the Iraqi radar, which had been moved into the no-fly zone about 130 miles southeast of Baghdad, according to the U.S. Central Command in Florida.
An Iraqi military spokesman said Iraqi anti-aircraft and missile batteries fired back.
“The U.S. administration and its servant Britain added a new crime to their black record . . . when their hostile planes attacked today civilian and service installations killing one citizen and wounding two,” the Iraqi said.
Airstrikes in the no-fly zone have increased since the U.S. military began building up its presence in the region.
On the ground in Iraq, an international team of chemical inspectors visited Al Majd Co., which is operated by Iraq’s military and contains electronics and corrosion-resistant material.
Missile inspectors visited a truck-repair shop and a missile maintenance facility north of Baghdad.
The Al-Harith missile facility does maintenance work on SA-2, SA-3 and SA-6 anti-aircraft missile systems and was visited before by inspectors before Iraq refused inspections in 1998. Biological-weapons inspectors checked out a brewery near Baghdad and a soft-drinks plant in Baghdad.
Workers at the Iraqi sites complained at being forced to submit to inspections on a holiday.