§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the circumstances surrounding an attack on Samawa, Iraq, on Saturday 20 January; how many people were killed; and what damage there was to buildings. [147182]
§ Mr. HoonOn Saturday 20 January coalition aircraft conducting humanitarian patrols of the Iraqi no fly zones, were subjected to repeated attacks from Saddam Hussein's forces, including multiple attacks by surface-to-air missiles as well as anti-aircraft artillery. Faced with these immediate threats to their safety, coalition forces responded in self-defence against Iraq's Integrated Air Defence System.
We are aware of Iraqi claims that civilian facilities were hit and casualties caused by this action. While it is impossible categorically to disprove Iraqi allegations, painstaking battle damage assessment indicates that all weapons released hit their intended military targets, and that there was no damage to any Iraqi civilian facilities. Baghdad's claims, as ever, should be treated with the utmost caution. We know that Iraq systematically claims that military personnel injured or killed in such incidents are civilian. Iraq claims also that targets have been bombed when no weapons have been released.