From: "Stasi" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [Peoples War] Iraq: US Plane Shot Down 27 August 2001 from BBC News Iraq 'shoots down' US spy plane Iraq says it has recently beefed up its defences Iraq says it has shot down an American reconnaissance aircraft flying over the south of the country. The Iraqi News Agency (INA) said the plane was equipped with "high-tech equipment", and was brought down near the southern city of Basra, 550km (340 miles) south of Baghdad. A Pentagon official said an unmanned Predator aircraft flying over southern Iraq had not returned from a mission. However Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. David Lapan earlier told reporters that all piloted US aircraft were safe and accounted for. A BBC correspondent in Washington, Martin Turner, says the Predator drone can fly up to 25,000 feet above sea level, but has a top speed of about 220 kilometres per hour - making it a relatively easy target. Iraqi Information Ministry officials said they were expecting a video tape from the defence ministry showing the wreckage of the downed plane, which would then be shown on Iraqi television. A military spokesman told INA: "The air defences in the area shot down the plane when it was flying a spy mission inside Iraqi airspace." The Iraqi army spokesman described the plane as "an advanced plane which the Americans used during their aggression on Yugoslavia." Western planes patrol two "no fly-zones" in northern and southern Iraq and regularly come under fire from Iraqi defences. Iraq, which does not recognise the zones, says 353 people have been killed and more than 1,000 injured in raids by the US and Britain since 1998. Baghdad has made repeated allegations that it has hit or brought down British and US planes, but previous claims have been rejected by London or Washington. No pilots have been lost since the zones were established 10 years ago to protect the areas' Kurdish and Shia populations from what Washington described as a threat of attack from the Iraqi army. However in late July, US defence officials said Iraq had narrowly missed hitting a high-altitude U-2 spy plane with a modified Russian-built anti-aircraft missile. In response, US and British planes launched two attacks this month against what Washington said was Iraq's upgraded air defence network. Baghdad said the attacks were on non-military targets and caused civilian deaths and injuries. "Our air defences have been modernised to confront the planes of aggression, which was admitted by US officials," and Iraqi military spokesman said. KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
