________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk] [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com]
FILE
– In this Monday, February 25, 1991 file photo, a Kuwaiti military
helicopter herds Iraqi prisoners, arms in the air, across a stream in
southeastern Kuwait, as Operation Desert Storm continues. Official
sources reported the number of Iraqi troops surrendering at 18,000 – and
growing.
KUWAIT: In Feb 1991, after months of
building an international coalition, US forces entered Kuwait to end the
Iraqi occupation of its smaller, oil-rich neighbor. The ground
operation to end Iraq’s nearly seven-month occupation lasted only 100
hours, despite fleeing Iraqi forces lighting hundreds of massive blazes
at Kuwaiti oil wells. As today marks the 25th anniversary of the US
advance into Kuwait, The Associated Press is making available its story
by correspondent Denis D Gray about the military operation, as well as
historic photographs of the conflict.
WITH US MARINES ADVANCING INTO KUWAIT: US Marines
surged into Kuwait through mine-sown defensive barriers Sunday, wrecking
an Iraqi division and taking 4,700 prisoners, spokesmen said. Some
units reached the outskirts of Kuwait City. The Marines lost three dead
in the first day of fighting, officers said. The 2nd Marine Division
reported one killed and eight wounded; the 1st Division two dead and
nine wounded. A pilot was missing after his plane crashed. “I myself am
amazed” at the light casualties, said Lt Col Jan Huly, 2nd Division
spokesman. “We expected it to be a lot more so far.”
Iraqi casualties were not known, but Huly said the frontline Iraqi
division the 2nd Marines faced as they broke through the defensive
barriers “doesn’t exist anymore”. The size of the Iraqi division was not
known. Huly said its commander apparently was captured or surrendered.
The 2nd Marine Division said it took at least 1,500 Iraqis prisoner; the
1st Division reported more than 3,200 Iraqis captured.
The assault, apparently the largest Marine operation since World War II,
involved the two divisions based along Kuwait’s southernmost border
with Saudi Arabia. The military did not say how many Marines were
involved, but a division has 6,000 to 15,000 men. Wearing full chemical
protection outfits and moving behind tanks and plows, the Marines pushed
through walls of sand, trenches, barbed wire and minefields as deep as
600 yards. One officer said some Marines encountered chemical gas,
apparently from mines.
The Iraqis have sown an estimated 500,000 mines in southern Kuwait, and
some were believed to include chemical agents. But the Iraqi forces
appeared to be using only conventional explosives in their artillery
shells. Huly said forward elements of the 2nd Division, including tanks
and artillery batteries, were already near Kuwait City and were
consolidating their positions. Lead units of the 1st Division, operating
to the west, drove deep into Kuwait late Sunday after breaking through
Iraqi lines northwest of the Al-Wafra oilfields, according to a pool
report. “Things are going very well,” said Col John Stennick, chief of
staff for the division. “We thought we’d have to fight harder to get
this far. The best news is that so few of our people have gotten hurt.”
An expected amphibious assault from Marines in the Arabian Gulf had yet
to be launched. The USS Nassau and about 20 other ships in the
amphibious task force awaited orders in the northern Gulf. Rear Adm.
John B LaPlante, commander of the group, said he did not expect assault
orders “in the near term.” Before sunset Marine units were still pouring
through six lanes cut through the breaches. Markers were placed in the
desert so that the assault force would not stray into zones sown with
mines.
Huly said that Iraqi opposition was “very mild”. He said the only known
2nd Division Marine death came when an artillery breach either exploded
or struck the gunner in the head. He had no details, and there was no
information available on the deaths in the 1st Division. The spokesman
ascribed the low allied casualties to superb US equipment and training
and poor Iraqi morale. “We’ve got our act together, he doesn’t. He’s
only shooting rounds randomly,” Huly said.
Stiffer Opposition
He warned, however, that the Marines would probably face stiffer
opposition as they moved deeper into Kuwait, where Saddam Hussein has
deployed some of his better troops, including the elite Republican
Guard. The Iraqis are said to have manned the front lines largely with
conscripts. “I don’t think we’ve gotten into the real battle yet,” said
Huly. “The tough guys are still ahead of us.” He said entire units,
complete with their weapons and other equipment, were surrendering after
putting up minimal resistance, and the morale of the prisoners taken so
far “is about boot-top level”.
Huly said the POWs were being placed in a temporary compound south of
the breach, and attempts were being made to whisk them to rear areas.
“There are so many we can’t talk to them all,” Huly said. Among the
prisoners was an officer believed to be commander of the frontline
division overcome by the Marines, Huly said. He did not know if the
officer had been captured or surrendered. As the assault force drove
forward, it came under fire from Iraqi artillery and ground troops.
Helicopter gunships and allied warplanes swooped in to knock out the
Iraqi gunners as they emerged from dug-in positions, Huly said.
Allied aircraft included Harrier jump jets, A-6 attack fighters, A-10
tank killers and Cobra helicopters. He said B-52 bombers, which played a
major role in the aerial strikes, were not being used in close support
of the ground troops. Lt Gen Walt Boomer, the Marine commander, said the
1st Marine assault began at 4 am Sunday (8 pm EST Saturday), the
starting time for the allied ground war. The 2nd Marine started its
attack about 1 1/2 hours later, under an unexpected downpour and after a
night of allied artillery, rocket and air strikes. The rain later gave
way to clear, sunny skies.
Huly said three Marine tanks – each with a crew of four – were damaged
or destroyed. One Marine AV-8B Harrier crashed at night and the pilot
was missing, Boomer said. Boomer said the Marines encountered chemical
gas that apparently was released by buried mines nine miles north of the
Saudi border. Huly said the troops went into battle wearing full
chemical protective gear, which includes a suit, gas masks, boots and
gloves. Troops have also been taking anti-nerve gas and anti-anthrax
pills for several days.
The way was prepared for the Marine advance on Friday morning when other
Marine units slipped into Kuwait on foot through the minefields to
establish a safe route for advancing armor. The Marines preceded their
attack with loudspeakers urging Iraqis to surrender. Smoke continued to
pour from the Umm Qadir oilfield in southwest Kuwait, which was
allegedly set ablaze earlier in the war by Iraqi forces. But Huly said
it posed no problems for the assault force. “They can see well enough to
shoot at us, and we can see well enough to shoot at them,” Huly said.
The spokesman also played down the effects of the rainstorm. Allied
warplanes continued to pour in supporting fire under heavy cloud cover. –AP
NEW DELHI: Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt said freedom was “the most
amazing thing” after he left prison Thursday upon completing his
five-year sentence for illegal weapons possession in a case linked to
the 1993 terror attack in Mumbai.
