The Battle for Qurah and Umm al Maradim, were several naval and land battles for control over the islands off the coast of

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...

, mainly the islands of Qurah and Umm al Maradim.

Qurah

Qurah was the first island to be retaken by Coalition Forces. On 24 January, two A-6's destroyed an enemy minelayer, a minesweeper, and a patrol boat near Qurah Island. A second minesweeper was sunk when it ran into one of their own mines, trying to evade the A-6s. Helicopters from flew over the wreckage to pick up Iraqi survivors and take them back as POWs. As they picked up the survivors, Iraqi troops on Qurah fired at the helicopters forcing them to fall back, managing to get twenty-two survivors out of the water. USS ''Curts'' maneuvered itself in a position so that it could fire on the island's defenses. This started a six-hour battle to retake the first parcel of Kuwaiti Territory. landed United States Navy SEALs on the island via helicopter, and by the time the gunfire had ceased, three Iraqi soldiers lay dead with fifty-one surrendering. There were no Coalition losses."The Navy in the Gulf War."
''history.navy.com''. Retrieved: 9 September 2010.

Umm al Maradim

On 29 January, in the northern Persian Gulf, the five ships of Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) ALFA – , , , and steamed near the Kuwaiti island Umm al Maradim.

United States Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...

assaulted the 300-meter by 400-metre island 12 miles off the Kuwaiti coast using embarked Marine

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

. After several hours of intense combat, the marines succeeded in liberating the second Kuwaiti island. After destroying Iraqi anti-aircraft weapons and

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

stored on the island, which had been used as an early warning post by the enemy, the Marines raised the Kuwaiti flag over the second parcel of reclaimed territory."The Navy in Operation Desert Storm."
''history.navy.com''. Retrieved: 9 September 2010.

References

{{coord missing, Kuwait Qurah and Umm al Maradim Qurah and Umm al Maradim Qurah and Umm al Maradim Maritime incidents in 1991 January 1991 events in Asia