Bubiyan Island

Three Iranian patrol boats exchanged gunfire with Kuwaiti military personnel guarding an island near the Iran-Iraq War front early Wednesday in an incident that left two Kuwaitis wounded and increased tension in the Persian Gulf. An Iranian war information spokesman in Tehran denied that any clash occurred, saying, "What the Kuwaitis claim is a figment of the imagination of the emirate's rulers."

Kuwait complained to the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that about 80 Iraqis backed by 12 naval vessels had landed on Kuwait's strategic Bubiyan Island in violation of the Gulf War cease-fire. The Kuwaiti coast guard and some aircraft destroyed seven of the vessels, according to an unofficial translation of Kuwait's letter to the council and to Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar. Kuwait's U.N.

Kuwait complained to the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that about 80 Iraqis backed by 12 naval vessels had landed on Kuwait's strategic Bubiyan Island in violation of the Gulf War cease-fire. The Kuwaiti coast guard and some aircraft destroyed seven of the vessels, according to an unofficial translation of Kuwait's letter to the council and to Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar. Kuwait's U.N.

A U.S. Coast Guard official said Wednesday there is little hope of fully clearing a massive oil slick from the Persian Gulf, and there were reports that a second large slick has been spotted off the coast of Kuwait. "Historically, we've only been able to cover 10% to 15% of any large spill, so there's no way to conceive of picking up all the oil from this spill," said Coast Guard Capt. Don Jensen, head of the U.S. Interagency Oil Spill Assistance Team dispatched here to help in the cleanup.

One of the reasons virtually no Western experts anticipated Iraq's annexation of Kuwait, officials now say, is that no one thought Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had any interest in possessing most of the country. What Hussein wanted, the officials believe, was only a small part of his neighbor's land--two strategic islands and a strip of territory covering the southern end of an oil field that straddles the Iraq-Kuwait border. Now, U.S.

A U.S. Coast Guard official said Wednesday there is little hope of fully clearing a massive oil slick from the Persian Gulf, and there were reports that a second large slick has been spotted off the coast of Kuwait. "Historically, we've only been able to cover 10% to 15% of any large spill, so there's no way to conceive of picking up all the oil from this spill," said Coast Guard Capt. Don Jensen, head of the U.S. Interagency Oil Spill Assistance Team dispatched here to help in the cleanup.

Three Iranian patrol boats exchanged gunfire with Kuwaiti military personnel guarding an island near the Iran-Iraq War front. Two Kuwaitis were wounded in what apparently was the first direct military encounter between Kuwaiti and Iranian military forces. An Iranian spokesman in Tehran denied that any clash occurred, but Kuwait's Defense Ministry reported that its forces on Bubiyan Island, a strategically located land wedge on Iraq's southern flank, came under attack and returned fire.

Kuwaiti warplanes sank an Iraqi gunboat, and coast guard units captured 46 disguised Iraqi soldiers who landed on Bubiyan Island to scavenge abandoned ammunition, Western security officials said Thursday. The clash erupted Wednesday afternoon when Kuwaiti coastal forces intercepted five fishing boats loaded with ammunition as they started to leave the island, the officials said.

Iranian troops, supported by helicopter gunships, pushed farther along southern Iraq's Al Faw Peninsula, a war communique said Sunday, and foreign journalists said they could see Kuwaiti territory from Iranian forward positions. The Iraqi news agency reported from Baghdad that some of the heaviest fighting of the 5 1/2-year-old war was being waged as Iran's week-old Dawn 8 offensive moved deeper into Iraq.

The leaders of six Arab states in the Persian Gulf region appealed Tuesday to the U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions on Iran for its refusal to accept a cease-fire in the seven-year-old Iran-Iraq War.

One of the reasons virtually no Western experts anticipated Iraq's annexation of Kuwait, officials now say, is that no one thought Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had any interest in possessing most of the country. What Hussein wanted, the officials believe, was only a small part of his neighbor's land--two strategic islands and a strip of territory covering the southern end of an oil field that straddles the Iraq-Kuwait border. Now, U.S.

Three Iranian patrol boats exchanged gunfire with Kuwaiti military personnel guarding an island near the Iran-Iraq War front early Wednesday in an incident that left two Kuwaitis wounded and increased tension in the Persian Gulf. An Iranian war information spokesman in Tehran denied that any clash occurred, saying, "What the Kuwaitis claim is a figment of the imagination of the emirate's rulers."

In a preemptive attack on possible Iraqi peace overtures, Secretary of State James A. Baker III said Tuesday that the United States would accept no "partial solutions" to the Persian Gulf crisis that would leave Saddam Hussein with anything to show for his invasion of Kuwait.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak plunged into emergency diplomacy Tuesday to bridge the noisy rift between Iraq and Kuwait, as the Pentagon announced "short-notice" naval maneuvers for U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf.