§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information is known to his Department about destruction by(a) coalition forces and (b) Iraqi forces of holy places at Samarra; and what he has done since his letter of 28 January to the hon. Member for Linlithgow to avoid damage.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonI have been asked to reply.
We have no information about damage to holy places at Samarra. Throughout the air campaign, coalition pilots attacked only military targets or facilities supporting Iraq's occupation of Kuwait. These attacks were carefully planned, and took account of the locations of Islamic holy places and sites of historical importance.