Iraqi missile nearly downs US spy plane

An official at the US state department said on Friday that Iraq tried for the first time on Tuesday to down an American spying plane " U 2" type by a missile.

News reports quoted the source which refused to be identified as saying that the plane saw closely the Iraqi missile while it was in a reconnaissance mission in southern Iraq.

Worthy mentioning that this type of spying planes usually fly at 60,000 feet height ( 20,000 meters) and it is slower that warplanes.

A high ranking official at the US state department said today ( Friday) that Iraq tried last Tuesday for the first time to down a US spying plane by a missile.

This official who asked not to be identified said that this incident needs tightening pressure on the Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, in being still constitute a threat to the region, as he stated. The Monte Carlo radio reported.