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| Operation Desert Strike | |
|---|---|
| Part of theIraqi no-fly zones conflict and theIraqi Kurdish Civil War | |
 USS Laboon launches Tomahawk cruise missiles atIraqi air defense targets, 3 September 1996. | |
| Type | Cruise missile strikes |
| Location | SouthernIraq |
| Planned by |  United States |
| Target | Air defense targets in southern Iraq |
| Date | 3 September 1996; 28 years ago (1996-09-03) |
| Executed by |  United States Navy United States Air Force |
| Outcome | SeeAftermath section |
The1996 cruise missile strikes on Iraq, codenamedOperation Desert Strike, were jointUnited States Navy–United States Air Force strikes conducted on 3 September againstair defense targets in southernIraq, in response to an Iraqi offensive in theKurdish Civil War.
On 31 August 1996, the Iraqi military launched its biggest offensive since 1991 against the city ofErbil in to defuse theKurdish Civil War between thePatriotic Union of Kurdistan andKurdistan Democratic Party. This attack stoked American fears and placed Iraqi presidentSaddam Hussein in clear violation ofUnited Nations Security Council Resolution 688 forbidding repression of Iraq's ethnic minorities.[1]
The strikes were initially planned to be by aircraft launched from theaircraft carrierUSS Carl Vinson, including aircraft fromFighter Squadron 11 (VF-11) andFighter Squadron 31 (VF-31), both operatingF-14D Tomcats;Electronic Attack Squadron 139 (VAQ-139), operatingEA-6B Prowlers;Attack Squadron 196 (VA-196), operatingA-6E SWIP Intruders equipped with the Target Recognition and Attack Multi-Sensor (TRAM) system; Anti-Submarine Squadron 35 (VS-35) flyingS-3B Vikings; andStrike Fighter Squadron 113 (VFA-113) andStrike Fighter Squadron 25 (VFA-25), both operatingF/A-18C Hornets. However the strike was instead launched by U.S. Navysurface warships and U.S. Air Force (USAF) bombers, usingcruise missiles.
On 3 September 1996, a joint operation by the U.S. Navy'sCarl VinsonCarrier Battle Group and the USAF, a combined strike team consisting of theguided-missile cruiserUSS Shiloh, theguided-missile destroyerUSS Laboon, andB-52 Stratofortress bombers escorted by F-14D Tomcat fighters fromCarl Vinson, with the nuclear-powered guided-missile cruiserUSS California serving as Air Warfare Commander,[2] launched 27 cruise missiles against Iraqiair defense targets in southern Iraq.[3] A second wave of 17 missiles was launched later that day[4] from the destroyersUSS Russell,USS Hewitt, USSLaboon, and the nuclear-powered attack submarineUSS Jefferson City. The missiles hit targets in and aroundKut,Iskandariyah,Nasiriyah, andTallil.[5]
It is debatable whether the attacks did or did not have a substantial effect on Iraq's northern campaign. Once they installed theKurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in control of Irbil, Iraqi troops withdrew from the Kurdish region back to their initial positions. The KDP drove thePatriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) from its other strongholds, and with additional Iraqi help, capturedSulaymaniyah. The PUK and its leader,Jalal Talabani, retreated to the border, and U.S. forces evacuated 700Iraqi National Congress personnel and 6,000 pro-Western Kurds out of northern Iraq.[6]
In response to Iraq's moves, the United States and United Kingdom also expandedOperation Southern Watch and the southernIraqi no-fly zones from the32nd parallel to the33rd parallel, bringing it to the edges of Baghdad itself.[3]
