US-British aircraft have attacked and destroyed what the American military claims was a mobile missile launcher system in the southern Iraqi No-fly zone.
US Defence officials, who asked not to be identified, said the strike, which took place at about 7 p.m. in Iraq, destroyed at least one truck-borne Ababil-100 surface-to-surface missile, its launcher and support vehicles near Basra.
The launcher is capable of quickly firing four rockets, which can each carry explosive warheads or up to 25 anti-tank "bomblets" and have a battlefield range of 80 to 90 miles.
The air strike came as US and British forces continued to mass in the Gulf ahead of a likely invasion of Iraq.
US and British jets have been increasingly attacking Iraqi air defense missiles, radars and communications for months. But strikes against surface tactical missiles are rare.
The US military's Central Command, based in Tampa, Florida, said the attack was in response to threats against air patrols over the zone and because Baghdad had violated UN orders by moving such a weapon close to its border.