CHOCO
Dec 4th, 2002, 11:01 PM
Iraq fires at US soldiers aboard Kuwaiti boat
KUWAIT CITY: A US serviceman and two Kuwaiti coastguards were wounded when Kuwaiti vessels on patrol in coastal waters off Iraq collided after an Iraqi ship opened fire at them, a newspaper reported Wednesday.
The Al-Rai Al-Am newspaper gave no explanation for the presence of US military personnel aboard what the Kuwaiti interior ministry described as a routine patrol near the northern island of Warba. The Pentagon late Tuesday denied that Kuwaiti vessels were fired upon by Iraqi vessels in Kuwaiti waters. “There were no Iraqi boats and no gunfire,” it said.
But the Pentagon acknowledged US troops had been aboard.
It said a US soldier was slightly injured when two accidentally collided. A Pentagon source told AFP that three Kuwaiti coast guard boats had been conducting maneuvers in Kuwaiti waters on Tuesday when the incident occurred.
The Kuwaiti interior ministry’s version noted Iraqi fire, constrasting with the Pentagon version. The interior ministry said in a statement carried by the official KUNA news agency: “An Iraqi boat opened fire on two Kuwaiti coastguard boats near Warba,” 70 kilometres (44 miles) north of Kuwait City but just two kilometres (one mile) off the southern coast of Iraq.
The ministry made no mention of US personnel. There was no comment on the incident from Iraq. The White House said earlier that the incident served to underscore US skepticism of Iraq compliance with UN disarmament demands. “We are monitoring the event,” White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters as US President George W. Bush headed to Shreveport Louisiana to campaign for a Republican Senate hopeful.
“The president has been briefed. And this underscores why the president is not encouraged by Iraq’s fundamental approach toward the issues of peace and disarmament,” Fleischer said.
The Kuwaiti coastguard is constantly having run-ins with Iraqi vessels entering Kuwaiti waters. On Saturday, Kuwait said it had intercepted two Iraqi boats in its territorial waters.
Iraq, for its part, has accused Kuwait of commiting acts of “piracy” against Iraqi fishing boats in the Gulf. Kuwait, which was invaded by Iraq in 1990 in an action that triggered the Gulf War, is hosting an estimated 10,000 US troops conducting exercises in preparation for a possible invasion of Iraq if Baghdad fails to comply with UN orders to disarm.
Kuwait is considered to be a vital point of departure for such a military action. —AFP
Home | Foreign
Baghdad might have Russian smallpox strain
Iraq fires at US soldiers aboard Kuwaiti boat
Death sentences of 17 commuted in Saudi
Qaeda attack on Israeli team in Malta thwarted
Passengers stand on a train
Schroeder expects EU enlargement at Copenhagen summit
US, UN at odds over Baghdad goods
Kenya detains former owner of car used in suicide bombing
ME peace talks unlikely before Iraq issue is resolved: Ross
VIEWS: US is ready to respond to Iraq weapons declaration
We are being set up for a war against Saddam Hussein
Koizumi with Philippines President Gloria Arroyo
Struggle for mastery in Central Asia
Walls built by force will proctect neither secure Israelis nor Palestinians
REGION: India’s war rhetoric bodes ill for peace
Hasina sees threat to life from govt
Kabul attacks blamed on unscrupulous arms dealers
Maoists ready for talks with Nepal
Fresh blow for India in Quattrocchi case
‘Real face of India’
Allow Bollywood romanticism to make way for realism
KUWAIT CITY: A US serviceman and two Kuwaiti coastguards were wounded when Kuwaiti vessels on patrol in coastal waters off Iraq collided after an Iraqi ship opened fire at them, a newspaper reported Wednesday.
The Al-Rai Al-Am newspaper gave no explanation for the presence of US military personnel aboard what the Kuwaiti interior ministry described as a routine patrol near the northern island of Warba. The Pentagon late Tuesday denied that Kuwaiti vessels were fired upon by Iraqi vessels in Kuwaiti waters. “There were no Iraqi boats and no gunfire,” it said.
But the Pentagon acknowledged US troops had been aboard.
It said a US soldier was slightly injured when two accidentally collided. A Pentagon source told AFP that three Kuwaiti coast guard boats had been conducting maneuvers in Kuwaiti waters on Tuesday when the incident occurred.
The Kuwaiti interior ministry’s version noted Iraqi fire, constrasting with the Pentagon version. The interior ministry said in a statement carried by the official KUNA news agency: “An Iraqi boat opened fire on two Kuwaiti coastguard boats near Warba,” 70 kilometres (44 miles) north of Kuwait City but just two kilometres (one mile) off the southern coast of Iraq.
The ministry made no mention of US personnel. There was no comment on the incident from Iraq. The White House said earlier that the incident served to underscore US skepticism of Iraq compliance with UN disarmament demands. “We are monitoring the event,” White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters as US President George W. Bush headed to Shreveport Louisiana to campaign for a Republican Senate hopeful.
“The president has been briefed. And this underscores why the president is not encouraged by Iraq’s fundamental approach toward the issues of peace and disarmament,” Fleischer said.
The Kuwaiti coastguard is constantly having run-ins with Iraqi vessels entering Kuwaiti waters. On Saturday, Kuwait said it had intercepted two Iraqi boats in its territorial waters.
Iraq, for its part, has accused Kuwait of commiting acts of “piracy” against Iraqi fishing boats in the Gulf. Kuwait, which was invaded by Iraq in 1990 in an action that triggered the Gulf War, is hosting an estimated 10,000 US troops conducting exercises in preparation for a possible invasion of Iraq if Baghdad fails to comply with UN orders to disarm.
Kuwait is considered to be a vital point of departure for such a military action. —AFP
Home | Foreign
Baghdad might have Russian smallpox strain
Iraq fires at US soldiers aboard Kuwaiti boat
Death sentences of 17 commuted in Saudi
Qaeda attack on Israeli team in Malta thwarted
Passengers stand on a train
Schroeder expects EU enlargement at Copenhagen summit
US, UN at odds over Baghdad goods
Kenya detains former owner of car used in suicide bombing
ME peace talks unlikely before Iraq issue is resolved: Ross
VIEWS: US is ready to respond to Iraq weapons declaration
We are being set up for a war against Saddam Hussein
Koizumi with Philippines President Gloria Arroyo
Struggle for mastery in Central Asia
Walls built by force will proctect neither secure Israelis nor Palestinians
REGION: India’s war rhetoric bodes ill for peace
Hasina sees threat to life from govt
Kabul attacks blamed on unscrupulous arms dealers
Maoists ready for talks with Nepal
Fresh blow for India in Quattrocchi case
‘Real face of India’
Allow Bollywood romanticism to make way for realism