Military history of Iraq killing thirty-seven of the crew. On August 2, 1990, Iraq invaded and annexed Kuwait. The United States led an international coalition which heavily bombed Iraq and freed Kuwait in 1991. After this war, sanctions were imposed on Iraq as well as a north and south no fly zones, and during the 1990s, Iraq was frequently bombed by American and British aircraft in small sorties. In January 1993, the US launched a cruise missile attack against Iraq, because of it not dismantling police posts near the border with Kuwait. In June 1993, another US cruise missile attack was launched because of
Iraq–Kuwait relations that it was too early to reopen the Kuwaiti embassy in Baghdad and that this issue should wait until security situations improve. Iraq–Kuwait relations The international relations between Iraq and Kuwait have been turbulent, fuelled by Iraqi debt and conflicts over oil. Until 2004, Iraqi-Kuwaiti relations were characterized by the Iraqi government claiming historic rights to Kuwait. Ever since Kuwaiti independence in 1961, the Iraqi governments sought various opportunities to reclaim and annex Kuwait. A short-lived crisis evolved in 1961, as the Iraqi government threatened to invade Kuwait and the invasion was finally averted following plans by the Arab League