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2 missiles malfunction turkey { March 25 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2003/mar/25/top_stories/20030325top2.htmlhttp://www.manilatimes.net/national/2003/mar/25/top_stories/20030325top2.html
Tuesday, March 25, 2003
2 US missiles malfunction, land in Turkey
WASHINGTON—Two Tomahawk cruise missiles misfired (see story on how Tomahawk works on page 2) and landed in an unpopulated area of Turkey on Sunday, a US defense official said.
“Two Tomahawk cruise missiles misfired, landing in an unpopulated area in the Republic of Turkey. There were no reported injuries,” the official said.
The incident occurred at about 3:15 p.m. EST (4:15 a.m. Manila time), he said.
In Baghdad, Iraqi television showed pictures on Monday, of what it said was a downed “enemy” helicopter south of Baghdad.
The black Apache helicopter, which appeared intact, was still armed with guided missiles with US markings on them. Iraqis waving rifles surrounded the aircraft, which normally carries a crew of two.
Minutes later, a US defense official confirmed that one US Apache Longbow helicopter was down in Iraq, but had no comment on Iraq’s claims that it had shot down a second attack helicopter.
“I can confirm that we have one helicopter down,” said the official, but he had no information on the fate of the two US pilots aboard the helicopter, which was shown on Iraqi television near the city of Kerbala, 110 km (70 miles) southwest of Baghdad.
New explosions hit the Iraqi capital on Monday at the end of a televised speech by President Saddam Hussein praising Iraqis for resisting a US-led invasion, a Reuters witness said.
“We can hear explosions in the distance. It’s not clear where,” said correspondent Samia Nakhoul. Baghdad has been rocked by repeated waves of cruise missile strikes and bombings since the start of a US-led war on Thursday. An hour after it began, bombing could still be heard in the distance, apparently from the south of Baghdad, Reuters correspondent Khaled Yacoub Oweis said.
Meanwhile, Hussein said in a national address on state television on Monday, that Iraqi forces had inflicted serious losses on US-led forces and praised commanders fighting specific battles with the invaders.
Wearing military uniform and reading his address from behind a podium, Saddam praised the Iraqi commander at Umm Qasr, where US-led tanks, ground-attack jets, artillery and infantry have failed to dislodge more than 120 Iraqi Republican Guards.
He also said “victory is very near” in Basra, southern Iraq, which US and British tank units were still trying to secure. He called on defenders of Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul to hold firm, saying “despicable enemies would be defeated.”
It was not clear whether the 20-minute speech was recorded or live but the fact that Saddam mentioned successes in Umm Qasr suggested it had been made recently.
Reuters correspondents in Baghdad and elsewhere in the Middle East said, they were confident that the man appearing on live television was Saddam. The Iraqi leader has a handful of look-alikes who sometimes stand in for him.
-- Reuters
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