On October 8, 2002, two Kuwaiti citizens with ties to Al-Qaedajihadists in Afghanistan attacked a group of unarmed United States Marines conducting a training exercise on a Kuwaiti island, killing one before being killed themselves. The attackers were reported to have served as volunteers with the Taliban in Afghanistan, prior to the U.S. invasion of that country in response to the September 11 attacks of 2001.
The Marines were on a training exercise on Failaka Island, an island off the coast of Kuwait. One U.S. Marine was killed and another was seriously injured. The two Kuwaiti attackers were killed after Marines returned fire in self-defense. The marines' rifles were loaded with blank rounds for the training exercise, but they were able to engage their Kuwaiti attackers with their pistols.
Background
In October 2002, an element of approximately 150 U.S. marines from India Company and Lima Company of Battalion Landing Team,[1]3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment,[2][1]11th Marine Expeditionary Unit[3][1] were on Failaka Island as part of Eager Mace, a joint annual U.S. and Kuwaiti military amphibious assault training exercise. Eager Mace had begun the previous month and had 2,000 U.S. marines participating in it in total.[4] For the part of the exercise that took place on Failaka Island, it was conducted by U.S. forces only.[4]
Failaka Island was a small island belonging to Kuwait, located in the Kuwait Bay off the eastern coastline of mainland Kuwait proper. Prior to the Persian Gulf War of 1991 the island was a resort, but in 2002 the war damage had not been repaired. During the Gulf War, forces of the Iraqi Army invaded and occupied the island, severely damaging it in the process.[5] More than 11 years later, a much of the damage had not been repaired and some buildings still had graffiti painted on them from the war.[5]
The marines on Failaka had left southern California's Camp Pendleton in June 2002 and had arrived in Kuwait aboard the naval warship USSDenver after making port calls in several foreign countries.[1] In addition to the usual training duties that were part of the scheduled exercise, the marines were also practicing for a possible U.S. invasion of Iraq amid United Nations deliberations over an alleged Iraqi regime chemical weapons program.
There was a small civilian caretaker presence on the island consisting of Kuwaiti citizens, as well as a few shop owners,[6] which surprised the marines they were under the impression that the island was deserted.[1] Nevertheless, the marines felt safe on the island as Kuwait was allied with the U.S and the Kuwaiti government told them it was safe.[1] There was a small contingent of Kuwaiti police there as well.[1] In addition, the Kuwaiti civilians with whom the marines interacted with were friendly and were seemed glad to have U.S. military forces in their country.[1]
Attack
Antonio J. "Tony" Sledd (left), the sole U.S. marine killed in the attack.
On October 7, two Kuwaiti men, Anas al-Kandari and Jassem al-Hajiri, sat in a small white-with-red stripes Nissan pickup truck that they had rented and reconnoitered the marines training from a distance. They had spent some time at a local mosque a few days before and had reconnoitered the marines the day prior as well.
The two men were jihadis who had received terrorist training in Afghanistan. They had arrived at the island via ferry at 10:30a.m. and had been to the island a few times before, where they played soccer and drank soft drinks. Al-Kandari had fasted and prayed before going to the island in October, writing a will in which he demanded that his possessions be given to his fellow jihadis. He recorded a "martyrdom video" at a mosque before going to the island, where he recited some verses from the Quran and gave an oration to the camera urging Muslims to be more devout in Islam and to fight infidels, and lambasted the U.S. for its alleged atrocities against Muslims. Al-Hajiri was al-Kandari's cousin and a 26-year-old man who worked for the Kuwaiti Ministry of Oil.
The following day, October 8, was a hot and sunny day on the island. At approximately, 11:00a.m., some marines were taking a break and resting at a beach-side campsite during a lull in the training. They did not have live ammunition in their rifles for training purposes, although a few commissioned officers and senior NCOs carried Beretta M9 sidearms with live ammunition.[7][8] Soon thereafter, the two gunmen began shooting at the marines with Kalashnikov rifles,[7][9][10] specifically targeting two marines playing a makeshift game of baseball during a rest in the training. One nearby marine at first thought the gunfire was from his fellow marines, but soon realized otherwise.[6]
The marines were caught off guard. The gunfire struck the two baseball-playing marines, as well as a tent and dozens of cases of soft drinks. The men then drove to another location and then shot again. A marine sentry, Corporal James Cottrell, returned fire with the only M16A2 rifle on the beach with live ammunition. He disabled the truck and critically wounded the driver and his passenger allowing company commander Captain Matthew S. Reid the chance to return fire with his sidearm. The two Kuwaiti gunmen were shot, with one of them exiting the vehicle on the passenger side with several gunshot wounds. Reid and the senior-most enlisted marine on the island, First Sergeant Timothy Ruff, and Company Gunnery Sergeant Wayne A. Hertz then closed with and shot the gunman several more times, killing him. Ruff and other marines, including Hertz, then extracted the wounded driver from the vehicle. That gunman also died.[7][8] Before the second gunman died, the marines walked up to his body and stood over him. Surrounded by U.S. marines, the mortally-wounded gunman laid dying on the ground and muttered a few phrases in Arabic before dying.
Radio operator Lance Corporal George R. Simpson, Jr.,[11][12] a 21-year-old Ohioan from Dayton, was shot in the arm and Lance Corporal Antonio J. "Tony" Sledd,[13] a 20-year-old Floridian,[14][15] was shot in the chin and abdomen. An avid baseball fan from Florida's Hillsborough County, Sledd was playing an impromptu baseball game with Lance Corporal Simpson when the former was shot by one of the black-bearded gunmen at point-blank range in the back.[1]
Naval corpsmen assessed the injured marines and came to the conclusion that they needed more care and thus a request was put in to the U.S. Army hospital at Camp Doha for a medical evacuation. Within ten minutes, a U.S. Army UH-60 medical helicopter arrived and flew the two wounded marines to the mainland for treatment at an army hospital in Kuwait City. Sledd was reportedly in good spirits when he was taken away by the helicopter, but he died during surgery the same day. Simpson survived his wounds and was awarded the Purple Heart Medal later that month by a general.[12]
After al-Kandari and al-Haijiri were killed by the marines, reports indicate that the marines then took incoming gunfire from a nearby fishing village, with some of them jumping into the water to avoid being shot, as cover was scarce on a sandy beach. A CH-47 helicopter arrived and distributed ammunition to the marines, who then went into the town to fight the village-based attackers.[16] Eight hours later, the marines concluded and left.[16]
Aftermath
Matthew S. Reid, one of the U.S. marines present during the attack, pictured here in the mid-2010s as a colonel.
After killing the two attacking gunmen, the marines were unsure if there were any more attackers as there was still incoming gunfire. Once gunfire ceased the marines were unable to find the shooter. The marines of Lima Company set up a defensive posture, requested more ammunition, searched nearby buildings, stopped civilian vehicles, locked down the area, and detained 31 civilians for investigation, including two medical students suspected of being linked to gunman al-Kandari, handing them over to Kuwaiti authorities for further investigation.[8][17][18][19][7] An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was dispatched over the island along with British air force Tornadoes and U.S. Air Force F-16s.
The exercise the marines were a part of, Eager Mace, was originally intended to last three weeks,[4] but was cancelled after the attack.[4]
Though the Iraq War itself would not begin until a few months later in March of the following year, Sledd is considered by some to be the first U.S. combat casualty of the war, as he was killed by hostile fire while training for its commencement.[20][21] His death became a rallying cry for some marines who knew him, who said, "Remember how and why Sledd died!"[22] Sledd was posthumously advanced to the rate of corporal. Eight days after the attack, the U.S. government passed the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq, which legally cleared the way for the U.S. to invade Iraq, which it in March did the following year.[23]
George R. Simpson, one of the marines injured in the attack, left the U.S. Marine Corps in 2004. According to his mother, he had two titanium plates installed into his injured arm and with more than twenty-five screws holding the affected area together.[24]
In mid-2015, one of the suspects connected with the attack was killed by the U.S. government, using a UAV airstrike.[25][26][20]
Guantanamo captives alleged to have an association with the Failaka Island attack
A number of the captives held in extrajudicial detention in Guantanamo had their continued detention justified, in part, through a friendship or family relationship with the two attackers.
Guantanamo captives alleged to have an association with the Failaka Island attack
One of detainee's aliases was in another hard drive believed to belong to members of the suspected al-Qaeda cell involved with the October 2002 attack on U.S. Marines in Failaka Island.[27][28]
The detainee's name was listed on a computer seized from members of the suspected al Qaida cell involved in the October 2002 attack on United States Marines on Failaka Island.[29]
The detainee's name and other information was found in a September 2, 2002, "chat session" found on the hard drive of a computer confiscated from members of the suspected al Qaida cell involved in the October 2002 attack on U.S. marines on Failaka Island.[30]
The detainee's name was discovered as part of information that was recovered from hard drives, which were seized from the suspected al Qaida cell that attacked the United States Marines on Failaka Island in October 2002.[31][32]
The detainee's name was found under a chat session on a computer hard drive seized from the suspected al Qaida cell that attacked the U.S. Marines on Failaka Island in October 2002.[33]
The detainee was invited to the house of a man involved in the October 2002 attack on U.S. Marines on Failaka Island, Kuwait.[34]
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Rhem, Kathleen T. (October 8, 2002). "One Marine Killed, One Injured in Kuwait Incident". American Forces Press Service. United States Department of Defense. Archived from the original on April 14, 2012. Retrieved April 11, 2017. One American Marine was killed today and another injured when they were attacked while training on an island off the coast of Kuwait. Department of Defense officials identified the dead Marine as Lance Cpl. Antonio J. Sledd, 20, of Hillsborough, Fla. He died from wounds received in action while participating in an urban exercise as part of Exercise Eager Mace. Sledd was assigned to Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Camp Pendleton, Calif. The officials said the Marines were attacked at about 4:30 a.m. EDT (12:30 p.m. in Kuwait) by two men, presumed to be civilians of unknown nationality, who approached a group of Marines during the exercise and opened fire. The Marines responded, killing both attackers, a DoD spokesman said. More details were not yet available, and military officials are investigating the incident. U.S. Central Command officials said the two Marines who were shot were immediately evacuated to a 'nearby military medical facility.' About 1,000 U.S. Marines from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit are in Kuwait for Exercise Eager Mace, an annual U.S.-Kuwait military exercise. The Marines are part of the Belleau Wood Amphibious Ready Group, which deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom from San Diego in June
Schmitt, Eric (October 9, 2002). "U.S. Marine Is Killed in Kuwait As Gunmen Strike Training Site". The New York Times. p.A13. Archived from the original on October 2, 2014. Retrieved April 11, 2017. The marines were conducting an urban assault exercise on Failaka Island, in the Persian Gulf off Kuwait City, when two Kuwaitis driving a pickup truck opened fire with AK-47 automatic rifles on a group of marines who were training with blank rounds, Pentagon officials said. The assailants were shot to death when they raced up the road and fired on a second cluster of troops, the officials said.... Thirty-one civilians on Failaka were taken into custody as possible material witnesses in what the United States Fifth Fleet said was an unprovoked attack. Kuwaiti and Pentagon officials could not immediately explain why the civilians were on the island. Marines also recovered three AK-47 automatic rifles and ammunition from the truck the gunmen were using.
Dakss, Brian (October 10, 2002a). "Al Qaeda Links To Kuwait Attack?". CBS News. Archived from the original on February 12, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2014. The two men — Anas al-Kandari, 21, and his 26-year-old cousin, Jassem al-Hajiri — opened fire Tuesday from a pickup truck on Marines engaged in urban assault training on Failaka, an island 10 miles east of Kuwait City, killing one Marine and injuring a second. After driving to a second location and attacking a second time, both Kuwaiti shooters were killed by Marines.
Nordland, Rod (2002). "Volume 140". Newsweek. Newsweek, Incorporated. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
"Wounded marine awarded Purple Heart". Marines Magazine. October 2002. Archived from the original on April 12, 2017. Retrieved April 11, 2017. Bethesda Naval Hospital, Bethesda, Md. -- Lance Cpl. George R. Simpson Jr. was awarded the Purple Heart for injuries sustained Oct. 9 when two Kuwait gunmen opened fire on a group of Marines training on the Kuwaiti island of Failaka. The medal was presented by Gen.
Global Security (June 2003). "Eager Mace". Global Security. Archived from the original on June 25, 2003. Retrieved June 25, 2003. About 2,000 marines began an amphibious assault exercise in Kuwait in late September 2002. The annual exercise was scheduled to end around October 19th. The Marine exercise, initially intended to last three weeks, was cut short after the fatal shooting of one Marine and the wounding of another by terrorists. Plans to practice an evacuation operation were canceled after the Kuwaiti government requested that the Marines end the training and move back aboard their ships. On 08 October 2002 the assailants approached the exercise in a pick-up truck and fired on the Marines with small arms. The assailants were in civilian attire. The two gunmen were shot and killed by other Marines following Tuesday's attack. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the attack on Marines Oct. 8 was an act of terrorism. Lance Cpl. Antonio J. Sledd, 20, of Hillsborough, Fla., died in the attack. Lance Cpl. George R. Simpson, 21, of Dayton, Ohio, was wounded in the firefight. There were no Kuwaiti military forces on the island for this part of the exercise. In addition, 31 civilians have been taken into custody since the shooting as possible material witnesses. Kuwaiti authorities are questioning them.
Rivera, Tim (September 2003). "Marine Lance Cpl. Antonio J. Sledd". Fallen Heroes of Operation Enduring Freedom: Remembering the soldiers who died in the service of their country. Fallen Heroes Memorial. Archived from the original on September 23, 2003. Retrieved September 23, 2003. 20, of Hillsborough, Florida. Sledd died in Kuwait from wounds received in action while participating in an urban exercise as part of Exercise Eager Mace. He was assigned to Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Camp Pendleton, California. Died on October 8, 2002.
University of St Andrews (April 23, 2014). "US Marine killed and another wounded during training in Kuwait". University of St Andrews. Archived from the original on October 2, 2014. Law Enforcement Response: Article focuses on cooperation difficulties between Kuwaiti and US authorities early in the investigation. 31 suspects quickly arrested - reportedly thwarting other imminent attacks.
Banco, Erin (September 24, 2014). "UN Documents Point To Deep Links Between Khorasan Leader Mohsin al Fadhli And Al Nusra Front In Syria". International Business Times. Archived from the original on October 14, 2014. Fadhli, a bodyguard and second-in-command for a leader in the al Qaeda network, possibly Bin Laden himself, fought for the terrorist group in the north of Afghanistan. He had learned how to use firearms, antiaircraft guns and explosives when he fought against Russian forces in Chechnya. He also was implicated in an attack against U.S. Marines on the Kuwaiti island of Failaka on Oct. 8, 2002. The Marines were training on the island and were attacked by two Kuwaitis, Anas al-Kandari and Jassem al-Hajiri. One Marine was killed.
6th Marine Regiment (June 2016). "Colonel Matthew S. Reid". 6th Marine Regiment, Leaders. United States Marine Corps. Archived from the original on June 24, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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