Initial reports suggest the mission was successful and there were no allied casualties.

Continued defiance of UN security council resolutions will not be tolerated Marlin Fitzwater, White House spokesman

The Iraqi ambassador to the UN, Nizar Hamdoon, has said the raids into Kuwait will stop.

White House spokesman, Marlin Fitzwater, said: "The government of Iraq should understand that continued defiance of UN security council resolutions will not be tolerated."

He said if the cross-border raids continued, there would further attacks without warning.

The UK Prime Minister, John Major, called the action "limited and proportionate".

He said it would mean British planes could once again operate in safety in the no-fly zone.

The BBC's correspondent in Baghdad, Michael Macmillan, says the air raids are likely to strengthen support for Saddam Hussein.

Sanctions imposed since the Gulf War are biting hard and the Iraqi people support his defiance against the West.

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