The strikes were initially planned to be by aircraft launched from the aircraft carrier, including aircraft from Fighter Squadron 11 and Fighter Squadron 31, both operating F-14D Tomcats; Electronic Attack Squadron 139, operating EA-6B Prowlers; Attack Squadron 196, operating A-6E Intruders equipped with the Target Recognition and Attack Multi-Sensor system; Anti-Submarine Squadron 35 flying S-3B Vikings; and Strike Fighter Squadron 113 and Strike Fighter Squadron 25, both operating F/A-18 Hornets. However the strike was instead launched by U.S. Navy surface warships and U.S. Air Force bombers, using cruise missiles. On 3 September 1996, a joint operation by the U.S. Navy's Carl VinsonCarrier Battle Group and U.S. Air Force, a combined strike team consisting of the guided-missile cruiser, the guided-missile destroyer, and B-52 Stratofortress bombers escorted by F-14D Tomcat fighters from Carl Vinson, with the nuclear-powered guided-missile cruiser serving as Air Warfare Commander, launched 27 cruise missiles against Iraqi air defense targets in southern Iraq. A second wave of 17 missiles was launched later that day from the destroyers,, USS Laboon, and the nuclear-powered attack submarine. The missiles hit targets in and around Kut, Iskandariyah, Nasiriyah, and Tallil.
Aftermath
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. These strikes, along with follow-on deployments of troops, aircraft, and the addition of a second aircraft carrier to the region, achieved their desired results. It is debatable whether the attacks did or did not have a substantial effect on Iraqs northern campaign. Once they installed the Kurdistan Democratic Party in control of Irbil, Iraqi troops withdrew from the Kurdish region back to their initial positions. The KDP drove the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan from its other strongholds, and with additional Iraqi help, captured Sulaymaniyah. The PUK and its leader, Jalal Talabani, retreated to the border, and American forces evacuated 700 Iraqi National Congress personnel and 6,000 pro-Western Kurds out of northern Iraq. In response to Iraqs moves, the United States and United Kingdom also expanded Operation Southern Watch and the southern Iraqi no-fly zones from the 32nd parallel to the 33rd parallel, bringing it to the edges of Baghdad itself.
