Bombs Stem Gulf Oil Spill : More Iraqi Warplanes Fly to Iran

The attack on a Kuwaiti oil storage facility by U.S. fighter-bombers appears to have stemmed the flow of millions of gallons of crude oil into the Persian Gulf, while American military officials also said today that the number of Iraqi planes inexplicably taking refuge in Iran had increased to 69.

A British government source said later in the day in London that about 100 Iraqi warplanes have gone to Iran.

Army Brig. Gen. Pat Stevens, in a briefing today, said that the flow of oil, already estimated at 300 million gallons, seemed to be dissipating and that the fire around the off-shore facility that was the source of the spill had dwindled after it was hit late Saturday by Air Force F-111 fighter-bombers.

“It appears we have stopped the flow, but we continue to seek positive confirmation of that fact,” said Stevens.

A team from four U.S. government agencies arrived in Riyadh today to fight the spill, and a contingent from Britain’s Southhampton Oil Spill Response Center was reported on the way with booms and skimmers aimed at cleaning up the oil and keeping it away from vital coastal facilities. A Norwegian ship equipped with clean-up equipment was also working off the coast of Bahrain.

Meanwhile, Stevens announced that the number of Iraqi planes flying to Iraq had increased to 69 today, an increase of 30 over the number that had landed there as of Sunday night.

“We are delighted to see that because every one of those aircraft that leaves Iraq is one less that we will have to engage in combat,” said Stevens. But he also said he had no idea about why there had been such a sudden exodus of planes from Iraq.

At a British armed forces briefing today, the status of the Iraqi air force was described as barely a factor in the conflict.

“The extent to which the Iraqi air force can operate is hardly worth talking about,” said Group Capt. Naill Irving. “When we go on the offensive now, we will have our fighter cap overhead.”

Irving said there was no way of predicting now what course of action Iraqi President Saddam Hussein would take, now that his air power had been effectively knocked out.

“It just remains to be seen where he strikes next,” he said.

Stevens also told a briefing that a U.S. Marine Harrier jet was lost in combat today. It was the first allied loss in more than two days and the 11th U.S. plane lost in combat since the fighting began. The allies have lost 23 planes in the war, 17 in combat. He said the allies carried out more than 2,000 sorties again today, raising the total to more than 24,000.

In another arena, a high-ranking Western diplomat said today that an estimated 250,000 people had left the Saudi capital since the fighting began Jan. 17. Much of the fear here has been generated by Scud missiles, which the Iraqis have been firing at Saudi Arabia and Israel.

There were no Iraqi Scud attacks Sunday night or early today, but at night, Patriot missile firings and warning sirens signaled yet another missile attack on Riyadh. Witnesses said the Patriots intercepted one Scud missile.

A short while later, air raid sirens sounded in Israel, and the army said Iraq had fired another missile at the Jewish state.