F-16 fires on Patriot radar

A U.S. F-16 fighter plane fired on a Patriot missile battery in southern Iraq, a spokeswoman at Central Command forward headquarters in Qatar said today.

Reports suggest the missile's radar had locked on to the plane. The F-16 fired before the missile could be launched.

There were no casualties in the incident which took place on Monday some 30 miles (48 km) south of Najaf.

"During combat air operations...Monday a U.S. F-16 fighter engaged a U.S. Patriot battery approximately 30 miles south of An Najaf," Central Command said in a statement.

"The F-16 pilot executed the strike against the Patriot while en route to a mission near Baghdad...No soldiers were injured or killed by the strike," it said.

An investigation into the incident is now under way.

It was the second friendly fire incident involving a Patriot since the war in Iraq started last week. In the first, a British Tornado was shot down by a U.S. Patriot missile as it returned to base. The two man crew is reported as missing, believed dead.

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