Kuwait shoots down Iraqi missile

An Iraqi missile was shot down by a Patriot missile defence battery today before it could reach Kuwait, a military spokesman said.

“Our radars detected a missile launched by Iraq. It was shot down in southern Iraq before it entered our airspace,” said Lt Col Awad Metawtah of the Kuwaiti army.

He said a Patriot missile struck the Iraqi missile at 9:05am (6.05am Irish time).

Sirens had sounded in Kuwait City ahead of what was at least the 17th missile Iraq has fired at Kuwait since coalition troops invaded on March 20.

Before dawn today, an explosion rang out across the Kuwaiti capital, but Metawtah said it apparently resulted from a false alarm.

“A watch centre suspected an enemy object in the northern area,” he said. “An anti-missile missile was launched and exploded in the area.”

But he said the report of an Iraqi missile launch towards Kuwait that prompted that response “may not be true”.

On Saturday, a low-flying Iraqi missile crashed on a jetty in front of a major shopping centre, causing minor damage to the building and two minor injuries. US Patriot missile batteries have been guarding Kuwait against a series of Iraqi missile attacks.