February 2001 World Headlines

Monday, February 19, 2001 - Web posted at 8:32:15 AM GMT

Iraq wants UN to condemn attack

BAGHDAD - Iraq has asked the United Nations to condemn Friday's US and British air raids near Baghdad, Iraq's Foreign Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf said in a letter to Secretary-General Kofi Annan."

The UN Secretary-General and the Security Council Chairman should condemn the military aggression and should take approperiate steps to prevent such attacks from happening again," the letter, carried by Iraqi News Agency, said.

US and British aircraft attacked targets near Baghdad and President George W.

Bush said Washington would take "appropriate action" if Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein produced weapons of mass destruction.

US defence officials said 24 American and British planes struck five Iraqi military targets eight to 32 km from Baghdad using long-range precision-guided weapons.

Iraq said two civilians were killed and more than 20 others were injured in the air raids.

Iraq's Trade Minister Mohammed Mehdi Saleh said on Sunday that Baghdad would continue to defy US and British warplanes patrolling no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq since soon after the 1991 Gulf War.

The patrols are to protect Shi'ite Muslims in the south and a Kurdish enclave in the north from possible attack by Baghdad's forces.

The planes have regularly attacked targets in the south and north since Baghdad started to challenge Western planes patrolling the no-fly zones in December 1998.

Foreign Minister Sahaf's letter said Friday's attack came while Baghdad was preparing for high-level talks with Annan to solve an impasse over inspections of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

The talks are scheduled on February 26 and 27.

- Nampa-Reuters

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