LOC12:36
09:36 GMT
By Montaha Al-Fadhli (with photos)
KUWAIT, Feb 23 (KUNA) -- Bait Al-Qurain (Al-Qurain House) battle, which
broke out February 24, 1991 between Kuwaiti resistance members and the
invading Iraqi forces, represented national unity in a manner that would be
remembered forever.
The memory of the 19 Kuwaitis who took part in the battle, 12 of whom were
killed, is now honored in a national museum.
Late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah had ordered turning the
house located in Al-Qurain residential area, which witnessed that battle, to a
museum supervised by the National Council for Culture, Arts, and Letters
(NCCAL) to remind future generations of the sacrifices of Kuwaiti people
during the Saddam occupation of Kuwait.
Some parts of the destroyed house were renovated to ensure the safety of
the visitors of the museum that contains some weapons that were used in the
battle and photos of the resistance members concerned.
One of those who survived the battle, Hazim Jaber Saleh told KUNA that on
February 24, 1991, and prior to the coalition forces' attack on the Iraqi
forces, electricity was cut off at 1:30 a.m.
"We had a tip that coalition forces were going to execute a marine landing
in coordination with two Kuwaiti resistance groups, which are Al-Meseila and
West Fentas groups," he said.
At 8:00 a.m. Iraqi forces began arresting Kuwaiti youth from their homes to
use them as human shields and hold them as prisoners of war, he said.
"When the coalition forces' land attack was announced, we were overjoyed
and planned to have a role in directing the forces to the Iraqi soldiers'
gathering sites and in assisting the coalition forces in fighting the
occupiers who had begun to withdraw," he added.
Resistance members decided to wear unified clothing with the slogans
"Al-Meseila Group" in the front and "Kuwait Force" in the back so that
coalition forces would identify them, he said.
Just then, an Iraqi intelligence car arrived followed by a small bus with a
number of soldiers, searching for Kuwaiti youth to arrest, he pointed out.
The car stopped in front of Beit Al-Qurain, the house of Bader Nasser
Al-Eedan, and an Iraqi soldier got off and knocked on the door, but no one
answered him so an Iraqi officer ordered a soldier to jump over the fence, he
said.
The resistance group's leader Sayed Hadi Al-Alawi was watching over the
house and Iraqi soldiers found out that Kuwaiti youth were inside, so they
surrounded it until 2:00 p.m. and the Kuwaiti resistance members had to choose
between surrender and battle.
Al-Alawi shot the Iraqi soldier, the two sides exchanged shooting from 2:00
p.m. until 6:00 p.m., then Iraqi Army forces requested tank support, as well
as that of Republican Guard forces who surrounded the house from all sides,
Saleh said.
Al-Alawi asked the Kuwaiti resistance members to take positions in
different parts of the house to confuse and disperse the Iraqi soldiers who
began firing tank and artillery rounds at the building, while the Kuwaitis
only had light weapons to return fire with, he said.
The battle ended with the killing of Al-Alawi, Yousef Khudair Ali, and
Aamir Faraj Al-Enizi and the arrest of the rest of the group's members Jassem
Mohammad Ali, Mubarak Ali Safar, Ibrahim Ali Safar, Abdullah Abdulnabi
Mandani, Khalil Khairallah Al-Bulishi, Khalid Ahmad Al-Kandiri, Hussein Ali
Ridha, Mohammad Othman Al-Shaya, and the home owner Al-Eedan.
The arrestees were all executed by Iraq soldiers at Sabah Al-Salem Police
Station and their bodies were thrown at an open area in Al-Qurain, he said.
Saleh said Allah the Almighty had chosen martyrdom for 12 of the resistance
members and survival for the rest who either escaped to neighboring homes at
the start of the battle or hid in the dark amid the ruin of a house as
electricity was cut off.
The survivors were Sami Sayed Hadi Al-Alawi, Mohammad Yousef Kareem, Jamal
Ibrahim Al-Bannai, Talal Sultan Al-Hazza', Mishaal Al-Motairi, Bader
Al-Suwaidan, Ahmad Jaber Saleh, and I, he said.
Saleh concluded with expressing hope that the current generation would
learn from Bait Al-Qurain battle and the non-wavering resistance of the
Kuwaiti people in the face of the enemy.(end)
mf.aa.ris
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