Reply #54: Iraq, Israel dismiss report on Israeli air drills (Reuters) [View All]

[gateley]

BAGHDAD, July 11 (Reuters) - Iraq's Defence Ministry on Friday denied any Israeli air force drills had taken place in its airspace after a report that the Israelis were preparing there for a possible strike on Iran.

An Israeli military spokesman also described the report, carried on the website of the Jerusalem Post as "utterly baseless". In Washington, the Pentagon dismissed the report.

Major-General Mohammad al-Askari, spokesman for the Iraqi Defence Ministry, said: "As the Ministry of Defence, we haven't observed any IAF warplanes practising in Iraqi airspace."

Any reports which suggested Iraq had no knowledge of what was happening in its airspace were false, Iraq said.

The Jerusalem Post report, citing sources in the Iraqi Defence Ministry telling a local news network, said Israel Air Force (IAF) war planes were practising in Iraqi airspace and landing on U.S. airbases in the country as a preparation for a potential strike on Iran. It said it could not confirm the veracity of the report.

snip

More -- the Pentagon denies it too. Wonder if it's a valid report.

http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=248753