Another F-16 Fires On Iraqi Defense Site

For the second time in three days, a U.S. F-16 jet fighter fired a missile at an Iraqi air defense site Monday after the site’s radar appeared to be targeting the jet, the Pentagon said.

Defense Secretary William J. Perry expressed some uncertainty about whether the jet really was threatened, acknowledging the possibility its detection equipment may have given a false reading. The Pentagon has been unable to substantiate a Saturday report by another F-16 pilot that radar from an Iraqi anti-aircraft battery had tracked his plane, prompting him to shoot a missile as well.