(London Times) - Daniel McGrory American commanders claimed that an Iraqi suicide pilot narrowly missed hitting a main military base in the Kuwaiti desert Thursday. U.S. officers say a small Cessna aircraft flew low over the border and headed for Camp Commando which, until a few days ago, was the main base for U.S. Marines. Saddam Hussein is known to have adapted single-seater aircraft to carry chemical weapons; the appearance of the Cessna triggered an alert throughout military units along the Iraqi border. An American military spokesman said the pilot launched a missile at the camp in eastern Kuwait, which exploded harmlessly 40m from the perimeter. The aircraft is then reported to have banked hard to the left and dived towards the camp, which is shared by British and U.S. personnel, crashing just 100m from its target.
2003-03-21 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive