- WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Patriot
missile was accidentally fired from a military base in Qatar, hitting a
nearby farm, the Pentagon said Tuesday. Defense Department spokesman Bryan
Whitman said the missile landed in an "unpopulated farm area,"
and no one was injured. The incident - which occurred Monday night in Washington
time but Tuesday in Qatar - is being investigated, Whitman said. "It's
been described as an accidental discharge; beyond that, it's just not clear
at this time" what happened, Whitman said. The official Qatar News
Agency, quoting an unnamed official with Qatar Armed Forces General Command,
said the missile was erroneously fired from Camp As Sayliyah, located on
the outskirts of Doha, and it caused no damage.
-
- The Patriot is an air-defense guided-missile system,
and the military is secretive about where it bases the Patriot batteries.
It was originally designed to shoot down aircraft, but it gained attention
in the first Gulf War when it was used against Iraqi scud missiles. Later,
there was criticism of its effectiveness, and technical improvements were
made. A number of problems with Patriot missile defenses and related systems
contributed to three friendly fire deaths during the U.S.-led invasion
of Iraq in 2003, the Pentagon has said. Patriot batteries misidentified
and shot down an American and a British fighter in separate incidents,
leaving three air crew members dead. A Patriot system also mistakenly tracked
another U.S. fighter, which bombed a radar in response. The incidents took
place in March and April 2003.
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