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Gunfight kills Kuwaiti, injures Iraqis

11 January 2011 04:16 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. An Iraqi fishing boat has reportedly entered the Kuwaiti waters, triggering an exchange of fire which killed a Kuwaiti coastguard and wounded three Iraqis, APA reports quoting Press TV.

The firefight took place on Monday after the Kuwaiti coastguard’s maritime warnings against unwarranted sailing went unheeded, AFP reported.

"A Kuwaiti patrol targeted an Iraqi fishing boat and this resulted in three wounded, two arrested and four missing," said the head of the fishermen’s association in Iraq’s southern port city of Basra.

The vessel was destroyed during the gun battle, according to the Kuwaiti interior ministry.

Such border violations take place on a regular basis, and often result in the capture of the vessels and apprehension of the trespassers.

In October, the interior ministry of the Persian Gulf emirate said eight Iraqi fishermen had been arrested by Kuwaiti coastguards for illegally entering the country’s territorial waters.