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U.S.: Patriots down Iraqi missiles
KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait (CNN) -- U.S. Patriot missiles knocked two Iraqi missiles out of the sky on Thursday, hours after two others landed without injury near the U.S. forces' main logistics center in the Kuwaiti desert, the military said. U.S. and Kuwaiti sources initially reported all the missiles as Scuds, but the Pentagon later said it believes they were al Samouds or some other type of missile. In Baghdad, Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Al-Sahaf said he had heard a report that U.S. forces had downed a Scud. "But we don't have Scud missiles," he said. The first incident happened at about 10:30 a.m. local time, when two missiles landed near Camp Commando, according to a spokesman for the Marines at Camp Iwo Jima. CNN's Sanjay Gupta, who is with the Marines, reported a "missile-like" object hurtled past Camp Iwo Jima. The Marines who got the best look at that object said it was self-propelled and green with yellow stripes, Gupta said. Gupta said the camp was quickly ordered into bunkers and told to put on gas masks, followed by the announcement "missiles inbound." From the bunker, people could not see where the object landed, but they heard a loud boom to the south, between the camp and Kuwait City. Gupta said they also heard several "thuds" from the north, and a Marine came by and said that "hits have been confirmed." A Marine spokesman later told Gupta there were no casualties and confirmed that more than one Iraqi missile flew over their position, landing at 10:28 a.m. south of the camp near Camp Commando. The missiles did not contain chemical or biological agents, the spokesman said. About two hours after the attack, at 12:35 p.m., air raid sirens sounded in Kuwait City and the Marines were again sent to their bunkers. Military sources said three Patriot missiles then destroyed an Iraqi missile. An hour later, at about 1:30 p.m., one Patriot knocked out another Iraqi missile, military sources said. CNN's Ryan Chilcote, embedded with the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division, said two military sources confirmed that a Patriot missile had been fired at an incoming missile to the north. Walter Rodgers, CNN correspondent embedded with the Army's 7th Cavalry near the Iraqi border, said commanders there feared an artillery barrage and ordered everyone into full chemical suits and gas masks. Gupta also reported seeing a Marine medivac helicopter take off from Camp Iwo Jima. The helicopter flew to the northwest, Gupta said, in the direction of the Iraq-Kuwait border. -- CNN Radio Correspondent John Bisney contributed to this report
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