WASHINGTON/BAGHDAD, 27 September — US warplanes struck Basra airport in southern Iraq and knocked out its radar yesterday, as Russia poured cold water on Washington’s efforts to win official UN backing for making war on Baghdad. Iraqi television said "US ravens of evil carried out another aggression at 00:45 a.m. (2045 GMT on Wednesday), targeting Basra international airport," in an attack a government spokesman called a "terrorist" act.
A Pentagon spokesman said the attack by US warplanes hit a mobile air defense radar system at the airport, but Iraq said the airport’s civilian radar system was destroyed in the raid.
The attack on Basra airport in southern Iraq "hit the mobile air defense radar that they positioned at their airfield," Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. David Lapan said in Washington. "They were using it to target our aircraft over the last week or so." "Bottom line is, we’re not going to let him (Iraqi President Saddam Hussein) put equipment in areas and then use it against us," Lapan said.
As the low-scale war in the no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq carried on, Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to rule out backing a US bid for a tough new UN resolution on Iraq.
"We favor a rapid resolution of the situation by political and diplomatic means, on the basis of existing UN Security Council regulations and in line with the principles of international law," he said in Moscow.
A Pentagon spokesman said the attack by US warplanes hit a mobile air defense radar system at the airport, but Iraq said the airport’s civilian radar system was destroyed in the raid.
The attack on Basra airport in southern Iraq "hit the mobile air defense radar that they positioned at their airfield," Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. David Lapan said in Washington. "They were using it to target our aircraft over the last week or so." "Bottom line is, we’re not going to let him (Iraqi President Saddam Hussein) put equipment in areas and then use it against us," Lapan said.
As the low-scale war in the no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq carried on, Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to rule out backing a US bid for a tough new UN resolution on Iraq.
"We favor a rapid resolution of the situation by political and diplomatic means, on the basis of existing UN Security Council regulations and in line with the principles of international law," he said in Moscow.