barrykind
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Iraqis Hurt in U.S.-British Air Raids
published 12:51 AM - JULY 14, 2002 Eastern Time
In this May/June 1996 handout picture from the U.N., a worker under the supervision of U.N. weapons inspectors dismantles a fermentation vat that could have been used to produce biological weapons prior to its destruction. The threat from Iraq's chemical and biological weapons is primarily to U.S. troops and to enemies of President Saddam Hussein inside and near Iraq rather than to civilians in the United States, defense and intelligence officials say. (AP Photo/UNSCOM, File)
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) _ Seven Iraqi civilians were injured in U.S. air raids in southern Iraq on Saturday, a military spokesman said.
The unidentified spokesman said warplanes bombed "civil and service installations" in Dhi Qar province, 211 miles south of Baghdad, the official Iraqi News Agency reported.
The Iraqi spokesman said seven civilians were wounded, but did not elaborate on the extent of their injuries.
The warplanes left Iraqi skies after being challenged by Iraq's "courageous ground resistance," the report added.
A statement released by U.S. Central Command headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida said allied aircraft fired "precision-guided weapons to strike air defense facilities at approximately 3:50 a.m. EDT."
The strikes were launched after Iraqi air defense units fired on coalition aircraft, the statement said.
The incident comes as the United States weighs options to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Iraqi opposition leaders are also meeting in London to discuss their role in any bid to oust Saddam.
A regime change in Iraq is a stated policy of the Bush administration.
U.S. and British warplanes monitoring "no fly" zones over southern and northern Iraq regularly attack Iraqi military facilities. The zones were established shortly after the 1991 Gulf War to protect Kurdish and Shiite Muslim groups.
Iraq frequently tries to shoot down allied planes as it considers the zones violations of Iraqi sovereignty.
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Posts: 3529 | From: Orange, Texas | Registered: Jun 2002
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