WASHINGTON U.S. and British planes attacked targets in southern Iraq in response to antiaircraft artillery fired on coalition planes, U.S. officials said.

The air strike on Thursday targeted an antiaircraft missile site in the hopes of reducing Iraq's ability to fire upon Western allies enforcing a no-fly zone set up to protect anti-Baghdad Shia Muslims in the area, according to a statement issued on Thursday by the U.S. Central Command.

"All coalition aircraft returned safely and target battle damage assessment is ongoing," the statement said. The last strike in the southern no-fly zone was against an Iraqi antiaircraft artillery site on March 30.

Iraq said there were no immediate casualties reported.

"U.S. and British warplanes carried out 24 sorties from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait ... and flew over the provinces of Basra, Dhiqar, Muthanna, Qadissiya and Wassit," an Iraqi military spokesman said in a statement carried by the Iraqi News Agency (INA).

The spokesman said the planes attacked civilian and military installations, but were forced to return to their bases by Iraqi air-defense fire.

The Western jets patrol no-fly zones set up after the expulsion of Iraqi troops from Kuwait in 1991 to protect the Shia Muslims in southern Iraq as well as Kurd dissidents in northern Iraq.

(Reuter)