A Patriot missile defense system intercepted an Iraqi missile fired toward Kuwait yesterday, marking the eighth missile that has been intercepted out of 11 that Iraq has fired toward Kuwait, according to the U.S. Defense Department.  Reports were unclear whether every Iraqi missile had been engaged or whether some were deemed nonthreatening and were allowed to fall into safe areas (see GSN, March 27).

Kuwaiti officials say Iraq has fired closer to 15 missiles toward Kuwait, but residents have become comfortable with the Patriot as a protector, the Washington Post reported.

“People are putting their faith in the Patriots,” said Sami Faraj, a military expert advising the Kuwaiti government on civil defense.  “They don’t want to go to shelters because they are so confident — we don’t want them to be so confident,” he added.

The Pentagon said that two of the three missiles that were not shot down landed in the desert while the other fell into the Persian Gulf.  No injuries or deaths have been reported from the missiles.

Officials at the U.S. Central Command in Qatar said eight of the missiles were Ababil 100s and two of the missiles were al-Samoud 2s (Susan Glasser, Washington Post, March 28).

U.S. defense forces, meanwhile, are searching for Iraq’s alleged Scud missile arsenal, InsideDefense.com reported yesterday.  During the 1991 Gulf War, Iraq launched 39 Scud missiles from its western desert toward Israel.

“We’re very active in those areas to make sure that it doesn’t happen again,” said Army Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks, the Central Command’s deputy director of operations (John Liang, InsideDefense.com, March 27).

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