DATE=8/12/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=IRAQ / RAID (L-UPDATE)
NUMBER=2-265394
BYLINE=SCOTT BOBB
DATELINE=CAIRO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:


INTRO:  The government of Iraq says U-S and British 
warplanes have attacked a town in southern Iraq, and 
reports from the region say one person was killed and 
20 wounded.  The U-S Central Command says the raid was 
carried out in response to Iraqi anti-aircraft fire 
and targeted military installations in the area.  V-O-
A's Scott Bobb reports from our Middle East bureau.


TEXT:  The Iraqi Information Ministry says the raid 
took place overnight on the town of Samawah, 270 
kilometers south of Baghdad.  A statement issued 
Saturday said houses and other civilian buildings were 
hit.

U-S and British warplanes clash almost daily with 
Iraqi air defenses over no-fly zones set up following 
the Gulf war.  Iraq says 300 civilians have been 
killed and nearly 900 wounded in such attacks in the 
past 18 months.

Iraq does  not  recognize the no-fly zones, which were 
set up to protect dissident populations in these 
regions.

The reported attack occurred hours after Venezuelan 
President Hugo Chavez ended the first visit by a 
foreign head-of-state to Iraq since the Gulf war 10 
years ago.  President Chavez flew by helicopter late 
Friday to a border post northeast of Baghdad, where he 
crossed into Iran.

The visit was part of a tour by the Venezuelan 
president of major oil exporting countries prior to an 
OPEC summit in Caracas next month.  The Iraqi news 
agency says the Venezuelan president met with Iraqi 
President Saddam Hussein, during which they criticized 
Western pressure on the Venezuelan leader to cancel 
his visit.

The Iraqi news media have hailed the visit as a 
breakthrough and a weakening of the international
isolation of Iraq.   (Signed)

NEB/SB/ALW/JP




12-Aug-2000 12:02 PM LOC (12-Aug-2000 1602 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
.