Iraqi invasion of Kuwait

The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was an operation conducted by Iraq on 2 August 1990, whereby it invaded the neighboring State of Kuwait, consequently resulting in a seven-month-long Iraqi military occupation of the country.[17] The invasion and Iraq's subsequent refusal to withdraw from Kuwait by a deadline mandated by the United Nations[18] led to a direct 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, eventually resulting in the forced expulsion of Iraqi troops from Kuwait and the Iraqis setting 600 Kuwaiti oil wells on fire during their retreat, as a scorched earth strategy.

Quick facts: Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait, Date, Location, Res... ▼

Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait
Part of the Gulf War
Location of Iraq (green) and Kuwait (orange)
Date 2–4 August 1990 Location Kuwait Result Iraqi victory Iraqi-backed puppet state installed, shortly being annexed and the creation of the Kuwait Governorate and the Saddamiyat al-Mitla' District afterward Military intervention by a United Nations-authorized coalition led by the U.S. in 1991 to oust Iraqi forces from Kuwait Territorial changes Iraq annexes Kuwait as its 19th province and the creation of the Saddamiyat al-Mitla' District
Belligerents
Iraq	Kuwait
Commanders and leaders
Saddam Hussein	Jaber III
Strength
88,000[1][2][3]	16,000[4] (Army) 2,200[4] (Air Force) 1,800[4] (Navy)
Casualties and losses
295 killed 361 wounded (Unconfirmed Kuwaiti claims) 120 tanks and armoured vehicles destroyed[5] 39 aircraft destroyed 4 ships sunk (Unconfirmed Kuwaiti claims)	420 killed 12,000 captured[6] 250 tanks destroyed or captured (approx.) 850+ armoured vehicles destroyed or captured[7][8][9][10] 57 aircraft destroyed[11] 8+ aircraft captured (Mirage F1s) 17 ships sunk 6 ships captured[12][13][14] 24 I-Hawk SAMs destroyed/captured 36 M-109 155mm destroyed/captured 20[15] or 80[16] AMX-F3 155mm SPHs destroyed/captured

A variety of speculations have been made regarding the true intents behind the Iraqi move, including Iraq's inability to pay Kuwait more than US$14 billion that it had borrowed from Kuwait to finance the Iran–Iraq War, and Kuwait's surge in petroleum production levels which kept revenues down for Iraq.[19] Throughout much of the 1980s, Kuwait's oil production was above its mandatory OPEC quota, which kept the oil prices down.[20] Iraq interpreted Kuwait's refusal to decrease its oil production as an act of aggression. In early 1990, Iraq accused Kuwait of stealing Iraqi petroleum through cross-border slant drilling, although some Iraqi sources indicated that Saddam Hussein's decision to attack Kuwait was already made a few months before the actual invasion.[21] The invasion started on 2 August 1990, and within two days, most of the Kuwaiti military was either overrun by the Iraqi Republican Guard or retreated to neighboring Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Immediately following the invasion, Iraq set up a puppet government known as the "Republic of Kuwait" to rule over Kuwait, eventually annexing it outright, when Saddam Hussein announced a few days later that it was the 19th province of Iraq.[22]