Major political event in the Eastern World

Operation Desert Strike

On August 31, 1996, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein ordered 30-40,000 Iraqi troops to invade the city of Erbil in Kurdish northern Iraq during the Kurdish civil war. Once he had order the invasion, that placed Saddam Hussein in violation of United Nations resolutions forbidding the repression of Iraq's ethnic minorities. This was  something that Hussein had done in 1988 and 1991. So in response to this latest violation, the United States launched 27 cruise missiles.  The 1996 cruise missile strikes on Iraq occurred in September 1996 during the Kurdish Civil War. This was known as Operation Desert Strike. A coordinated cruise missile attack was launched against the Iraqi air defense infrastructure, including surface-to-air missile sites and command and control nodes in southern Iraq. It involved a joint United States Navy-United States Air Force strike against air defense targets in southern Iraq.  This attack was a significant escalation of an ongoing struggle between PUK and KDP Kurdish factions for control of the autonomous region. The missiles that were sent hit their designated targets, sending a clear signal of American resolve and deterring further Iraqi invasion.

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 shaming the Iraqi air defense infrastructure. These strikes, as well as with follow-on deployments of troops, aircraft, and the addition of a second aircraft carrier to the region, achieved their desired results.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/desert_strike.htm