RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - U.S. and British warplanes struck two artillery sites Thursday that were a threat to aircraft patrolling Iraq's southern ``no-fly'' zone, a U.S. Air Force spokesman said.Meanwhile, in Baghdad, Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz denied his country had been involved in the Sept. 11 terror attacks against the United States, but warned that Washington may use the strikes as an excuse for an eventual assault on Iraq.
``Iraq has been a target of the American and British aggression for the past 11 years. It would not be a surprise for us if they do'' attack, Aziz told CNN.
An Iraqi military spokesman told the official Iraqi News Agency that one civilian had been injured in the allied airstrikes Thursday.
The anti-aircraft sites had posed danger for the planes monitoring Iraq's no-fly zone , Maj. Brett Morris said.
All aircraft returned to bases safely after the attacks on the two surface-to-air artillery posts, Morris said. He said the sites were in An-Nasiriyah and Shahban, about 170 miles and 225 miles south of Baghdad, respectively.
Britain's Defense Ministry said later that the allied attacks had targeted a radar installation and an anti-aircraft artillery site. There was no indication of civilian casualties, the British said.
U.S. and British aircraft patrol southern and northern Iraq to prevent Iraqi forces from attacking Kurds in the north and Shiite Muslims in the south and to provide early warning of any Iraqi troop movements toward Kuwait.
Iraq considers the ``no-fly'' zones - installed after Baghdad's 1990 invasion of Kuwait - illegal and has vowed to shoot down any coalition planes.
PHOTO CAPTION:
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz speaks to the media in Baghdad Thursday Sept. 27, 2001. Aziz said that Iraq does not have biological or chemical weapons, and there is no need for inspectors to come to Iraq. Aziz also said that Iraq has no contacts with Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and no relationship with the Taliban. (AP Photo/Jassim Mohammed)