Tuesday, June 30, 1998 Published at 22:19 GMT 23:19 UK
World: Middle East
US plane targets Iraqi missile site
A US Air Force F-16CJ refuels over Iraq (USAF Photo)
An American fighter plane in the Gulf has opened fire on an Iraqi missile site.
The Tornados took evasive action and a specially equipped American fighter, an F-16 CJ, was called in.
One Harm missile was fired at an Iraqi anti-aircraft battery.
An official said the Tornados were near Basra in southern Iraq -- within the air exclusion zone which the Allies enforce -- when they detected radar scanning them.
It said none of its radar had been activated -- and called the US action "aggressive and unjustifiable".
All the aircraft returned safely to base.
There is constant patrolling by Western aircraft, with the constant potential for a clash.
There have been several similar episodes where US aircraft have fired on Iraqi air defences, believing they were threatened, but this is the first incident since 1996, raising questions about its significance.
The United States has been resisting any relaxation, saying Baghdad has still not made a full disclosure of its weapons of mass destruction.