Kuwaiti denies taking part in military operations against Iraq

Kuwait has denied the participation of its forces in the military operations with allied planes in the "no-fly-zone" area in southern Iraq.

Kuwait's deputy premier and defense minister, Sheikh Salem al-Sabah, said in a statement to the Kuwaiti daily al-Anbaa issued on Tuesday that the Kuwaiti forces "honor the sovereignty of other states, the rights of neighbors and do not direct their weapons against any side."

Sheikh Salem stressed that the Kuwaiti planes were and will not be used except by Kuwaiti pilots who receive their instructions from the Kuwaiti leadership, and no orders were given to them to this effect.