Operation Desert Strike September 3, 1996

When In September 1996 during the Kurdish Civil War. It involved a joint United States Navy-United States Air Force strike against air defense targets in southern Iraq

What Despite warnings from the United States, Iraq moved 40,000 troops into northern Iraq, which threatened the Kurdish population.  So the president ordered a strike on military targets posing a threat to coalition aircraft in the no-fly-zone. On September 3 1996, a coordinated cruise missile attack was launched against the Iraqi air defense infrastructure, including surface-to-air missile sites and command and control nodes in southern Iraq.

Where The attacks were primarily aimed at retaliation for the targeting of USAF fighters in the Northern and Southern no-fly zones, and were targeted at surface to air missile sites and command, control, and communication locations, with the intention of degrading the Iraqi air defense infrastructure.

What On August 31, 1996, elements of the Iraqi Army attacked and captured the PUK-held town of Irbil in the Kurdish autonomous region of northern Iraq.  The August attack was a significant escalation of an ongoing struggle between PUK and KDP Kurdish factions for control of the autonomous region. 

What The Kurds' plight led to United Nations resolutions and intensive international calls for humanitarian assistance. The United Nations established distribution centers to provide food, medicine, and humanitarian supplies, even as the Iraqi regime continued to oppress and disenfranchise its northern citizens

Aftermath It is debatable whether the attacks did or did not have a substantial effect on Iraq's northern campaign. The PUK and its leader, Jalal Talabani, retreated to the Iranian border, and American forces evacuated 700 Iraqi National Congress personnel and 6,000 pro-Western Kurds out of northern Iraq.

Questions What was the date of the attack? Who was being invaded? How many troops were deployed? Where was the missile sent?