Kuwaiti coast guard units have captured dozens of Iraqi soldiers on a mission that apparently sought to salvage abandoned ammunition on strategic Bubiyan Island, officials reported Thursday.
Wednesday's thwarted mission was described as Iraq's most serious military move since U.S.-led multinational forces drove Iraqi invasion troops from Kuwait in February after a seven-month occupation.An official of Iraq's Foreign Ministry denied Thursday that Iraqi troops landed on the island, the official Iraqi News Agency said. The official, who was not identified, said there was no Iraqi military activity in that area, according to the INA report, which was monitored in Cyprus.
In Cairo, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry condemned Iraq for the incident, saying it confirmed "the aggressive intentions of the Iraqi regime" in the Persian Gulf. In London, the British Foreign Office summoned Iraq's senior diplomat to explain reports that Iraqi troops had violated Kuwaiti territory.
Egypt and Britain were important members of the U.S.-led forces that defeated Iraq in the gulf war.
Kuwaiti U.N. Ambassador Mohammad A. Abulhasan first reported the Iraqi infiltration attempt in a diplomatic protest in New York late Wednesday.
Bubiyan Island, coveted by Baghdad for years, is at the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab waterway.