| An Iraqi missile landed near a seafront shopping mall in Kuwait City early on Saturday but there were no casualties, Kuwaiti officials said.
Reuters correspondents at the scene saw debris strewn around the area, including what appeared to be the tailfin of a missile. A smell of smoke hung in the air.
One defense official said it was believed the missile was a surface-to-surface missile that had been fired from the vicinity of the Faw peninsula in Iraq and had skimmed low over the sea, which meant it had not been detected by radar.
The incident was the first time since the U.S.-led war on Iraq began that a missile had landed so close to Kuwait City. Other incoming missiles have been intercepted by Patriot batteries.
A team of Czech military chemicals weapons experts wearing full protective suits and gas masks were at the scene, along with a large crowd of onlookers.
"We want to reassure everyone that no injuries were sustained and only very minimal material damage," local official Major-General Ahmed al-Rageeb told Kuwaiti state television.
"We hope that everyone takes precautions and pays attention to the fact that this (Iraqi) regime is treacherous and will not desist from harming Kuwait."
Reuters correspondent William Maclean said the Al-Sharqiah cinema, which was part of the seafront mall in the Souq Sharq district, showed signs of damage to its frontage and roofing but it was unclear whether it had been struck by the missile.
A policeman at the scene told Reuters he had seen a missile land in the sea. Other witnesses said the missile appeared to fly in over the sea from the direction of the Faw peninsula.
Mohammed al-Misfir, a Kuwaiti man who was in the area at the time of the blast, said: "We were very lucky. Normally at this time the cinema is open. But because of the war, it has been closed so no-one was hurt."
Naval patrol boats chugged slowly up and down the sea beside the mall, apparently looking for fragments of the missile.
Several rockets have been launched at Kuwait from Iraq since the U.S.-led war against Iraq began. Kuwaiti officials say previous missiles launched at Kuwait have all been shot down by Patriot batteries or landed harmlessly in unpopulated areas.
Source: Reuters | |
