Baghdad - Iraq said yesterday that Washington has set itself a "mission impossible" against President Saddam Hussein and offered a big bounty for allied pilots.
The Iraqi leader is offering Iraqis 25 million dinars (£9,400) for downing a US or British warplane and a bounty of five million dinars for the capture of a pilot, Nabd al-Shabab newspaper announced.
The US has mounted almost daily raids on Iraqi air defences since last month when Baghdad started challenging US and British overflights in northern and southern no-fly zones.
The US Assistant Secretary of State, Mr Martin Indyk, arrived in Oman yesterday on the fourth leg of a Gulf tour to rally support for covert operations to topple Mr Saddam.
