1996 cruise missile strikes on Iraq
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Operation Desert Strike | |
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Part of the USS Laboon launches Tomahawk cruise missiles at Iraqi air defense targets, 3 September 1996. | |
Type | Cruise missile strikes |
Location | Southern Iraq |
Planned by | United States |
Target | Air defense targets in southern Iraq |
Date | 3 September 1996 |
Executed by | United States Navy United States Air Force |
Outcome | United States victory
|
The 1996 cruise missile strikes on Iraq, codenamed Operation Desert Strike, were joint United States Navy–United States Air Force strikes conducted on 3 September against air defense targets in southern Iraq, in response to an Iraqi offensive in the Kurdish Civil War.
Iraqi offensive
On 31 August 1996, the Iraqi military launched its biggest offensive since 1991 against the city of
Cruise missile strikes
The strikes were initially planned to be by aircraft launched from the
On 3 September 1996, a joint operation by the U.S. Navy's Carl Vinson
Aftermath
The attacks were primarily aimed at retaliation for the targeting of USAF fighters in the Northern and Southern no-fly zones, and were targeted at surface-to-air missile sites and command, control, and communication locations, with the intention of degrading the Iraqi air defense infrastructure. These strikes, along with follow-on deployments of troops, aircraft, and the addition of a second aircraft carrier to the region, achieved their desired results.
It is debatable whether the attacks did or did not have a substantial effect on Iraq's northern campaign. Once they installed the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in control of Irbil, Iraqi troops withdrew from the Kurdish region back to their initial positions. The KDP drove the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) from its other strongholds, and with additional Iraqi help, captured Sulaymaniyah. The PUK and its leader, Jalal Talabani, retreated to the border, and U.S. forces evacuated 700 Iraqi National Congress personnel and 6,000 pro-Western Kurds out of northern Iraq.[6]
In response to Iraq's moves, the United States and United Kingdom also expanded
See also
References
- ^ "U.S. Forces Hit Iraq Again in 2nd Round of Missile Strikes". Los Angeles Times. 4 September 1996. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
- ^ "Carl Vinson (CVN-70)". Archived from the original on 7 June 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
- ^ a b Pike, John. "Operation Desert Strike". GlobalSecurity.org.
- ^ Macko, Steve (3 September 1996). "US Launches 2nd Cruise Missile Attack in Iraq". Emergencynet News Service. Archived from the original on 9 February 2005.
- ^ "U.S. launches missile strikes against Iraq". CNN. 3 September 1996.
- ^ Plotz, David (28 September 1996). "The Kurds". Slate.
External links