Al-Samoud 2 - Operational History (March-April 2003)

Operational History (March-April 2003)

A number of Al-Samoud 2 missiles were fired at Kuwait during the 2003 conflict. One of them, aimed at the Coalition Headquarters at Camp Doha, was successfully intercepted by a missile Patriot on March 27. Some debris hit buildings inside the US base. The other missiles were also shot down or landed harmlessly in the desert.

A similar development, the Al-Fahd or Ababil-100, a solid propellant version of the Al-Samoud, was also used by the Iraqi army during the invasion. The Headquarters of the 2nd Brigade, US 3rd Infantry Division, were struck by a missile of this kind on April 7, while the Brigade's main force was conducting an incursion 15 km north, well inside Baghdad. Three soldiers and two foreign reporters were killed in the blast. Another 14 soldiers were injured, and 22 vehicles destroyed or seriously damaged, most of them Humvees.