Drone strike damages Kuwait residential complex, no injuries

A drone struck a residential complex in Kuwait’s Capital Governorate before dawn on Wednesday, igniting a fire that firefighters contained without casualties, authorities said, as renewed Iranian attacks spread across Gulf states hosting United States forces.

Kuwait Fire Force spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Al-Gharib said crews from the Al-Hilali and Al-Madina fire stations responded immediately after the complex was hit by what the force described as a hostile drone. He said the blaze was brought under control and that losses were confined to property damage.

The Fire Force described the strike as part of Iranian aggression. Kuwait’s authorities did not identify the precise residential area affected, disclose the extent of the damage or say whether the drone itself struck the building or debris from an interception caused the fire.

The incident came during a night of missile and drone attacks that Kuwait’s armed forces said its air-defence systems were actively confronting. The General Staff said explosions heard across the country were linked to interception operations against hostile missiles and drones and urged residents to remain calm and follow official safety instructions.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps separately said it had launched a combined missile and drone attack on Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, where US forces are stationed. The IRGC said it targeted the headquarters and accommodation of an American commander as well as drone facilities at the base. It claimed US personnel were killed and aircraft destroyed, assertions that had not been independently verified.

US officials had not confirmed casualties from the Iranian strike. American military statements issued after the wider exchange did not substantiate Tehran’s claims of deaths at Ali Al Salem.

The IRGC said the Kuwait attack was carried out alongside strikes on US-linked military sites in Jordan, Bahrain and Iraq.

In a statement addressed to Kuwaitis, the IRGC said its operation was aimed at the US military presence rather than Kuwait’s population. That distinction did not alter Kuwait’s attribution of the incident to aggression or its description of the drone as hostile.

It portrayed the operation as retaliation for US strikes on Iran’s southern regions, including an attack in Sirik that Iranian authorities said hit a home where a wedding was taking place.

Iranian officials said civilians were killed and dozens wounded at Sirik. Accounts of the death toll varied among Iranian statements, while the United States said its latest operation was directed against military targets and did not say it had deliberately targeted civilians.

US Central Command said its forces completed a wave of strikes on Tuesday against Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets, including air-defence sites, radar systems, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities and communications facilities. It said the operation followed attempted attacks by the IRGC on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and on American service members.

The renewed exchange marked a sharp return to direct confrontation after a period of reduced military activity between Washington and Tehran. Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan and Iraq host or facilitate US military operations, making them vulnerable to spillover when Iran targets American forces across the region.

Kuwait’s military response focused on air defence rather than announcing retaliatory action. Authorities issued public safety instructions while interception systems engaged incoming threats, and the Fire Force’s account indicated that the residential blaze was brought under control quickly after crews reached the scene.

The attack also underscored the risk to civilians from missile and drone exchanges around military facilities and densely populated areas. Kuwait City and surrounding districts contain major residential and commercial zones, while Ali Al Salem Air Base lies west of the capital and supports military operations.

There was no immediate announcement that residents had been evacuated from the affected complex, and officials did not report disruption to essential services in the area. No fatalities or injuries were recorded by the Fire Force.