New Delhi, June 3: The ongoing war in West Asia has claimed the life of 10th Indian national as one more was killed when a missile struck the Kuwait International Airport on Wednesday.
At least 63 people, including airport workers and passengers, were injured in the hit, according to Kuwait’s Health Ministry.
The death of an Indian national at the airport was confirmed by the Indian Embassy in a statement, which did not reveal the identity of the deceased.
This is the 10th Indian to be killed in the conflict in the West Asian region which has been going on since February 28 when the US and Israel launched joint air strikes on Iran.
Kuwaiti authorities said the airport, which also houses diplomatic facilities, was hit in Iranian strike, involving drones and missile.,
Hours later, Iranian military denied that the airport was hit by its missile or drone.
It said the damage to the passenger terminal at Kuwait International Airport was caused due to “an American Patriot system error”, referring to the air defence system used in Kuwait.
“Our investigations regarding the impact on Kuwait’s passenger terminal show that the IRGC Aerospace Force did not fire at this target,” IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi said.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) dismissed the claim in a post on X, calling it “totally false” and stating that Iran had struck the civilian airport with drones in what the command characterized as a “deliberate, calculated, and unjustified attack.”
Earlier, the IRGC said it had carried out strikes on a US military base in Kuwait and on the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain.
It said those attacks were in retaliation for an overnight American strike on an IRGC communications tower on Qeshm Island in southern Iran.
The latest violence has further strained a fragile ceasefire agreed to in early April.
Oil prices rose more than 2% as uncertainty persisted around the Strait of Hormuz, which had handled roughly one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the conflict disrupted traffic through the strategic waterway.
Bahrain’s army said it intercepted three missiles and several drones after Iran claimed it had targeted the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, along with an airbase and helicopters in another regional state.
The US military said two Iranian missiles aimed at Kuwait either fell short or broke apart in flight, while several other ballistic missiles failed to hit their intended targets.
As part of any potential agreement, Tehran is seeking an end to fighting in Lebanon, access to billions of dollars in oil revenues, waivers on crude exports, the lifting of a US blockade on its ports and continued leverage over the Strait of Hormuz.
The war has killed thousands, primarily in Iran and Lebanon, while causing major disruption to global energy supplies and shipping. The conflict has also intensified tensions between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon.
Lebanese security sources said Israel continued strikes on several southern Lebanese towns on Tuesday despite a US-mediated partial ceasefire announced a day earlier.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military said it intercepted a hostile aircraft that crossed into northern Israel.
