NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      LONDON (CWNews.com) - The British government on Monday said it is investigating reports that air attacks on Iraq military positions damaged the burial site of St. Matthew the Evangelist.

      The Defense Ministry said British and American aircraft patrolling the no-fly zone over northern Iraq on August 10 fired in self-defense on Iraqi anti-aircraft emplacements in the Ba'ashiqa area. A spokesman for the ministry said current information indicates that all of the bombs dropped landed safely away from civilian sites.

      Iraq claims that the planes attacked a fourth century Christian monastery, killing and wounding a number of people gathered at the site to view the solar eclipse the next day. US and British planes have launched more than 110 strikes against Iraqi targets this year. No-fly zones were imposed on Baghdad after the 1991 Gulf War over Kuwait with the aim of protecting opponents of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in the north and south of the country.

Articles provided through Catholic World News and Church News at Noticias Eclesiales and International Dossiers, Daily Dispatches and Features at ZENIT International News Agency. CWN, NE and ZENIT are not affiliated with the Daily CATHOLIC but provide this service via e-mail to the Daily CATHOLIC Monday through Friday.