Iraqi invasion of Kuwait
| Invasion of Kuwait | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Gulf War and the | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Iraq
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 Kuwait
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Saddam Hussein |
Jaber III
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| Strength | |||||||
| 88,000 |
Kuwaiti Army 16,000 |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 39 aircraft (est.) 295 killed, 361 wounded ≈120 tanks and other armored vehicles 4 ships sunk |
57 aircraft lost At least 8 aircraft captured (Mirage F1s) 4,200 killed 12,000 captured ≈200 tanks destroyed/captured 850+ other armored vehicles destroyed/captured 17 ships sunk, 6 captured |
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Iraqi victory
Kuwaiti Army 16,000
Kuwaiti Air Force 2,200
Kuwaiti Navy 1,800
Kuwait National Guard
Kuwait Police
The Invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990 was a 2-day operation conducted by Iraq against the neighboring state of Kuwait, which resulted in the seven-month-long Iraqi occupation of Kuwait. This invasion and Iraq's subsequent refusal to withdraw from Kuwait by a deadline mandated by the United Nations led to military intervention by a United Nations-authorized coalition of forces led by the United States. These events came to be known as the first Gulf War and resulted in the expulsion of Iraqi forces from Kuwait and the Iraqis setting 600 Kuwaiti oil wells on fire during their retreat.
In early 1990 Iraq was accusing Kuwait of stealing Iraqi petroleum through slant drilling, although some Iraqi sources indicated Saddam Hussein's decision to attack Kuwait was made a few months before the actual invasion. Some feel there were several reasons for the Iraqi move, including Iraq's inability to pay more than US$14 billion that had been borrowed to finance the Iran–Iraq war, and Kuwaiti production of a large amount of petroleum which kept revenues down for Iraq. The invasion started on 2 August 1990, and within two days most of the Kuwait Armed Forces were either overrun by the Iraqi Republican Guard or fell back to neighboring Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The State of Kuwait was annexed, and Saddam Hussein announced a few days later that it was the 19th province of Iraq.
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