Kuwait denies US air strikes on Iraq launched from its territory
Kuwait says false information has circulated that its country’s military bases were used
Cairo: The Kuwait army has denied claims that recent US air strikes on Iraq were launched from military bases in the Gulf country.
Kuwait’s army command dismissed as “mistaken information” media reports that the country’s military bases had been used to mount attacks against “specific targets in one of the neighbouring countries,” the military said in a statement, implicitly referring to Iraq. “All circulators of such false news have to verify accuracy and avoid its spread and circulation,” it added..
On Friday, a US air strike in Baghdad killed Qassem Soleimani, the chief of Iran’s self styled Quds Force linked to the Revolutionary Guard, heightening tensions between Washington and Tehran.
Days earlier, the US struck premises of Iraq’s Iran-allied militia Kataib Hezbollah in response to an attack on a military base in Iraq in which a US contractor was killed.
Iraq’s pro-Iran militia Asab Ahl Haq claimed the drone that had hit Soleimani’s convoy near Baghdad airport had taken off from Kuwait.
Mounting tensions between the US and Iran have prompted Kuwaiti authorities to beef up security.
The Kuwaiti defence and interior ministries as well as the National Guard have set up a joint operations room to follow up military and security reports, according to local media. Kuwait has also maximised security along the border with Iraq.