Vice-President Ramadan: Air patrols will be challenged

The warning came after the Iraqi Vice-President, Taha Yassin Ramadan, said Iraq did not recognize the no-fly zones and would fire on any planes violating its airspace.

But a National Security Council spokesman in Washington said American pilots could act in self-defence whenever they felt threatened.

And the Ministry of Defence in London said all aircraft operated under rules of engagement that allowed the return of fire.

Iraq's warning

BBC Correspondent Paul Welsh: Iraq views air-space incursions as aggression

Iraqi Vice-President Taha Yassin Ramadan told Qatari television on Saturday that now was the right moment to challenge the air patrols.

Asked if Iraq would accept the flights of US and British aircraft that maintain air exclusion areas, Mr Ramadan said: "We say frankly now that any violation of Iraqi airspace will be met by Iraqi fire."

The interview was conducted in Baghdad hours after Iraq said that its anti-aircraft gunners had driven off an attack by "enemy" warplanes in southern Iraq.

BBC Correspondent Rageh Omaar in Baghdad: Iraq is politically going on the offensive

BBC Defence Correspondent Jonathan Marcus says Iraq has limited capacity to defend its air space and any attempt to fire on western aircraft is likely to be met with a robust response.

Confusion over firing incident

A statement by the official Iraqi news agency said that at 1115 am (0815 GMT) a formation of "enemy" warplanes "attacked one of our air defence sites, which confronted it and forced it to drop its load randomly".

Iraq says it forced the planes to drop their bombs

The agency did not identify the nationality of the aircraft, but usually uses the word "enemy" for the United States and Britain.

Jonathan Marcus: Iraq throwing down gauntlet

After initial confusion, defence officials in Washington and London said a Tornado crew enforcing the no-fly zone in southern Iraq had seen anti-aircraft fire from the ground, but too far away to constitute an attack.

The air exclusion zone across southern Iraq was imposed in 1992 under the banner Operation Southern Watch to protect Shi'a Muslims from government attacks. The operation in the north to protect Iraqi Kurds began a year earlier.

No UN inspectors

Meanwhile, the Iraqi parliament has reaffirmed an earlier decision not to allow UN weapons inspectors to return to the country following the recent air strikes by the US and UK.

"Parliament reiterates its previous decision to break off co-operation with Unscom, which was buried by the mercenary aggression" of the United States and Britain, it said in a statement.