Kuwait confronts hostile aerial targets as Iran retaliates after US strikes; Bahrain sounds siren
Kuwait City, July 13 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) Kuwait on Monday said its armed forces are confronting hostile aerial targets within Kuwaiti airspace, while Bahrain said that the siren has been sounded and urged residents to head to the nearest safe place.
The developments come after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that it has launched retaliatory missile and drone attacks on US military bases in Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait after the US’ latest airstrikes on southern Iran.
In a statement shared on X, the Kuwait Army urged people to follow the security and safety instructions issued by the competent authorities
“The Armed Forces are currently confronting hostile aerial targets within Kuwaiti airspace. The General Staff of the Army notes that any explosion sounds, if heard, are the result of air defence systems intercepting hostile attacks. Everyone is requested to adhere to the security and safety instructions issued by the competent authorities,” the Kuwait Army posted on X.
Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior urged people to remain calm and move to the nearest safe place.
In a post on X, Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior stated, “The siren has been sounded. Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place.”
The IRGC said that it conducted attacks on Sunday after the US military struck several places in southern Iran over what the US said were attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s official news agency Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.
The IRGC said it had stopped two ships as they had switched off their tracking systems and taken an unauthorised route through the Strait of Hormuz. It said that it targeted the Prince Hassan Air Base in Jordan using missiles and drones in response to the US attacks that took place after the interception of the two ships.
It further said that the second phase of its retaliatory action targeted US military facilities at Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain.
It stated, “In the second phase of their retaliatory operation, the IRGC Aerospace Force struck key helicopter maintenance and repair facilities, a hangar housing a P-8 electronic warfare aircraft, and the command-and-control centre for the US military’s drone operations at the US base in Sheikh Isa, Bahrain.”
According to the IRGC, the third and fourth phases of retaliatory action targeted US military bases in Kuwait.
It said that the IRGC Aerospace Force completely destroyed fuel storage tanks and a Patriot air defence system at the US base in Kuwait’s Ali Al Salem and an FPS strategic radar system at Ahmad Al Jaber Air Base.
The IRGC said that its ground force attacked the US Army surface-to-surface missile base in Kuwait, setting two HIMARS missile launchers and ammunition depots stocked with missiles on fire before completely destroying them, IRNA reported.
It called the Strait of Hormuz an Iranian territory and vowed not to allow a “rogue, child-killing army from the other side of the world to continue its illegal interference there.”
The Strait of Hormuz serves as a key route for global oil and commercial shipping. Any disruption to navigation through the waterway has significant implications for international trade and global energy markets.
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