Iraq seems to be repairing southern defense sites

[Reuter / Michael Georgy]

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (Reuter) - A U.S. official said
Tuesday there were signs Iraq was repairing some air defense
sites hit by cruise missiles last week but would not say whether
this violated an allied no-fly zone.
``There are indications that Iraq is repairing or
reconstituting some sites that were hit,'' the official who
requested anonymity told Reuters.
When asked what he meant by reconstituting, the official
said: ``Reconstituting means they can take surface-to-air
missiles from other sites, or from storage, and put them up at a
site that was hit.''
``Iraq has lots of surface-to-air missiles that can be put
up,'' he added, without giving further details.
Defense Secretary William Perry told CNN last week that U.S.
forces reserved the right to strike again if Iraq tried to
rebuild air defenses disabled by U.S. cruise missiles.
The U.S. official would not say whether the repairs were a
violation of the expanded no-fly zone over southern Iraq.
Last week, the United States fired 44 cruise missiles at
military targets in southern Iraq to punish President Saddam
Hussein for sending 40,000 troops into the northern Kurdish
``safe haven'' at the request of one of the rival factions.
The Iraqi leader has vowed to ignore the exclusion zones in
both northern and southern Iraq.
The Pentagon said last week the missile attacks severely
damaged Iraqi air defenses, destroying or damaging up to 11 of
15 targets.
The satellite-guided missiles were fired from more than 500
miles away in two strikes against Iraqi targets.
President Clinton said that the strikes had achieved his
goal of forcing Saddam to withdraw from the north.
In addition to the attacks, the United States expanded a
no-fly zone over southern Iraq that was imposed after the 1991
Gulf War to protect Shiite Muslims from Iraqi forces.
A U.S. military official said last week that allied planes
had increased sorties over the southern safe haven and had
encountered limited Iraqi ground radar activity.
Tensions have continued to flare in the north.
Tens of thousands of Kurds fled toward Iran Tuesday as Iraq
gloated that the victory of its Kurdish militia allies had
restored Baghdad's power over the region and humiliated the
United States.