Iraqi Planes Again Pound Targets in Iran
Iraqi jets pounded Iran for the second day Thursday, and Iraqi helicopter gunships and ground forces battled Iranian troops for 16 hours on the central war front, the Baghdad command said.
Iraq said dozens of its warplanes hit two oil fields in southwestern Iran and two factories producing military equipment near the central city of Esfahan.
Baghdad also reported that Iraqi fighter-bombers attacked a ship off the Iranian coast in the northern Persian Gulf, their second strike on shipping in two days.
On the central war front, Iraqi infantry units, commandos, artillery, tanks and helicopter gunships fought off a brigade-sized Iranian force, the Baghdad command said.
Iran has yet to strike back from the air or sea after Iraq’s decision to resume the war after an informal lull in fighting during a peace mission to Tehran and Baghdad by U.N. Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar.
But after the raids on the oil fields and the factories, Tehran said that Iranian gunners would bombard Iraqi industrial and military centers and warned Iraqis to evacuate nearby areas for their own safety.
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