KHAFJI

On the night of January 29/30, 1991, the Iraqis launched several attacks along the Kuwaiti border. These were strong probes- attempts to gain intelligence on the location and nature of the forces the Iraqis were facing. The most widelyreported of these attacks was the capture of Khafji. An Iraqi mechanized infantry battalion reinforced by a company of T-55 tanks and a platoon of armored cars launched a successful attack south along the coast road towards Khafji. Khafji is a fairly large city of about 85,000. On January 29, the city was deserted due to prior Iraqi artillery fire. The Saudi 5th Airborne Battalion held a thin defensive line north of the city which was quickly overrun. A few marines from the 1st Marine Division were trapped in Khafji, but managed to call in artillery strikes by radio. On the morning of the 30th Saudi troops counterattacked unaware of the Iraqi true strength in Khafji and were repulsed. Later in the day Saudi and Qatari (mainly Pakistani mercenaries) troops, who had been freed up after the battle west of Khafji, recaptured the town, but not without a tough fight from the Iraqis. The Saudi troops lost 18 dead, 29 wounded, and 4 missing plus 2 tanks and 6 AFV's lost. The Iraqis lost their mechanized infantry battalion with 30 dead and 450 prisoners plus 12 tanks and all of their APCs.