Russia on Monday condemned the US-British air raid in Iraq's "no-fly" zones in the south of the country, saying the raids hindered the work of UN arms inspectors.

"These acts, which according to media reports caused civilian deaths and the destruction of civilian infrastructure, cannot be justified at all," a foreign ministry statement said. Baghdad said four Iraqis were killed and 27 injured when coalition aircraft hit an oil company in Basra and targets in two other southern provinces on Sunday.

US Central Command said the raid was aimed at an Iraqi air defense site and was in retaliation for Iraqi anti-aircraft fire against allied planes.

Iraqi forces have clashed almost daily with US and British patrols enforcing the no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq.

"These acts of force, which are not sanctioned by the UN Security Council, will only make the work of international (weapons) inspectors more difficult and will seriously worsen the situation in the region," the Russian foreign ministry said.

It added that the bombardments violated the consensus within the UN security council over the need to respect Baghdad's sovereignty and territorial integrity, mentioned in the recent UN resolution 1441 which toughened the inspections regime in Iraq.

Meanwhile warplanes of the US-British coalition on Monday again bombed Iraqi targets, this time air defense sites in northern Iraq, the US military said.

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