Allied planes bomb Iraq

British and American war planes have bombed three air-defence sites in southern Iraq, the Pentagon has said.

The raids, involving about 50 aircraft, were the heaviest against Iraq by coalition forces since February.

Iraqi communications, radar and missile sites were destroyed by precision-guided missiles, a US military spokesman said.

A US military official told French news agency AFP the raid was in response to "recent increases in air defence firings against coalition aircraft".