A missile fired by Iraq fell into the sea and exploded near Kuwait's most popular shopping mall early Saturday, blasting out windows, according to Kuwaiti and U.S. officials.
Two people sustained minor injuries, the official Kuwait News Agency reported.
"It came from the northeast part of the Gulf. It seemed to be traveling at a very low level," so no air raid sirens sounded, Fire Chief Jassim al-Mansouri said. He said it hit a small pier that juts into the Gulf in front of the Souq Sharq mall at around 1:45 a.m., and pieces landed nearby.
The information minister, Sheikh Ahmed Fahd Al Ahmed Al Sabah, said it was believed to have been a Chinese-made Silkworm missile. He said it was the 16th missile that Iraq has fired at Kuwait since the war began.
Col. Youssef al-Mullah, spokesman for Kuwait's military, told the Kuwait News Agency that a fragment from the missile fired Saturday had Arabic writing on it.
"Some missiles we cannot detect with our missile defense system," al-Sabah said. "This kind of missile flies very low."
U.S. officials in Washington also said the missile appeared to have been a Silkworm launched from southern Iraq. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
