RAISING THE STAKES

Once again Kuwait, on both the political and geographical peripheries of the Iran-Iraq war, has been subjected to the violence engendered by the Gulf conflict. In the early morning of 17 June synchronised explosions took place at four sensitive points in the countries vital oil installations. Three of the explosions were in the northern and southern pipeline distribution networks at Al Ahmadi and the fourth at an oil well at Maqwa, some 25 kilometres from Al Ahmadi. All the explosive devices were carefully placed at technically sensitive points in Kuwait's oil installation network; among the mixing manifolds of the pipelines leading to the two tank farms and at the head of a very high pressure producing oil well.