An Iranian drone and missile attack on Kuwait International Airport killed one person and injured 63 on Wednesday as tensions in the region threatened to boil over into open war once again.
Kuwaiti officials confirmed an Indian national was killed when the munitions hit the airport’s Terminal 1. Among the 63 injured, seven required immediate, extensive surgery, they said.
The airport was temporarily closed, but flights at some terminals resumed by late Wednesday local time.
The attack came only two days after Kuwait International Airport opened for the first time since Feb. 28, when hostilities between the U.S., Israel, and Iran began. Kuwait was the target of numerous one-way drone and missile attacks from Iran during the active phase of the war in March.
Kuwait’s civil aviation regulator said Wednesday that the incoming Iranian drones and missiles were shot down, but debris from the weapons fell to the ground, causing the damage at the airport.
Iran said it targeted Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation for U.S. air strikes on an Iranian island and an Iranian vessel overnight.
Washington and Tehran agreed to a ceasefire in April and have been negotiating for a permanent peace deal in the weeks since. But progress has been slow, and on May 25 the U.S. military began bombing sites in Iran that it said threatened the security of the region. While the ceasefire remains in place, some international observers warn it could collapse entirely if the two sides continue to escalate.
Kuwait International Airport is the primary hub for state-owned Kuwait Airways and Jazeera Airways.
