THE United States raised the stakes with Baghdad yesterday by attacking an anti-ship missile launcher in southern Iraq within range of US warships in the Gulf.

US strike aircraft attacked the launcher site in the southern no-fly zone near Basra with precision-guided bombs. RAF aircraft were not involved.

The latest attack on Iraqi weapons systems came as the Ministry of Defence in London announced that a reconnaissance party of about 20 soldiers had arrived in Kuwait to study logistic requirements for British troops if the Government decides to deploy a ground force for a campaign against Iraq. The party from 102 Logistic Brigade, based at Gutersloh in Germany, will stay in Kuwait for about two weeks. Brigadier Shaun Cowlam, commanding officer of the brigade, is leading the party, which is studying locations for a British base.

The MoD said that the party would return to Germany after completing its study and would then report on all the requirements for a ground force.

After yesterday’s raid south of Basra, a spokesman for US Central Command said that the anti-ship missile-launcher posed a threat to shipping.

The US aircraft carrier, USS Constellation, is operating in the northern Gulf, its FA18 and F14 strike aircraft launching daily flights over Iraq for Operation Southern Watch, the no-fly zone mission.

The spokesman indicated that the missile system, believed to be a Chinese-made Silkworm, had been locking on to warship radars at the northern end of the Gulf. The Silkworm has a range of about 60 miles and could hit ships operating in that part of the Gulf. Unlike Iraqi anti-aircraft systems, which have been firing almost daily on American and British aircraft, no Silkworms have been launched against ships.

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