The 1983 Kuwait bombings were attacks on six key foreign and Kuwaiti installations on December 12, 1983, two months after the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing. The 90-minute coordinated attack on two embassies, the country's main airport and petro-chemical plant, was more notable for the damage it was intended to cause than what was actually destroyed. What might have been "the worst terrorist episode of the twentieth century in the Middle East," succeeding in killing only six people because of the bombs' faulty rigging. Overshadowing the destruction or attempted destruction of bombings, as well as the subsequent arrests, trial and convictions of the perpetrators, was a series of kidnappings, hijackings and killings staged over the next several years to pressure Kuwait to release those convicted of the bombings. The perpetrators of the bombing are thought to have been Radical Shia Islamist members of the Iraqi Islamic Dawa Party working with the support and assistance of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The motivation of the bombing is thought have been punishment of Kuwait, America and France for their military and financial assistance to Iraq in its war against Iran.

[Last contributor : Rich Farmbrough , Content under LGPL licence]