§ Paul HolmesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what offensive operations were conducted by the Royal Air Force against military installations in Iraq on(a) 21 September 1999, (b) 21 September 2000, (c) 21 September 2001, (d) 20 September 2002 and (e) 22 September 2002. [79159]
§ Mr. IngramRAF and other coalition aircraft conducting legitimate patrols of the No-Fly Zones over Iraq are regularly threatened by Iraqi air defences. When this occurs they may respond in self-defence, against air defence sites.
On 21 September 1999 and 21 September 2001 RAF aircraft responded against, respectively, air defence radars and a surface-to-air missile site in southern Iraq, using laser-guided bombs.
285W No responses took place on 21 September 2000, or 20, 21 or 22 September this year.