1.   At the White House and the Pentagon, senior officials said it was not clear if the Iraqis were actually preparing to fire on the British jets.

2.   Iraq reportedly fired at a British jet after it was out of range, and US officials said they take the threats seriously.

3.   Iraq threatened on Monday to attack an air base in southeastern Turkey if American and British jets based there continue to patrol northern Iraq.

4.   It is rare for Pentagon officials to disclose the extent of aerial surveillance or to provide detailed accounts of the damage caused by U.S. and British jets in Iraq.

5.   The attacks followed a similar skirmish on Tuesday, in which British jets attacked another antiaircraft battery in southern Iraq after being fired on, officials said.

6.   They continued to fire at U.S. and British jets patrolling the no-flight zones over southern and northern Iraq, including those that flew Thursday.

7.   U.S. and British jets suspended their patrols long enough to allow U.N. inspectors to investigate the damage, an administration official said.

8.   U.S. and British jets bombed missile batteries in the north.

9.   U.S. and British jets also struck an oil refinery near Basra, in the south, that U.S. officials said was generating illicit profits for Saddam despite U.N. sanctions.

10.   With a deafening roar and billowing trail of dust, a British jet car Monday became the first vehicle to officially exceed the speed of sound on land.