1973 Samita border skirmish

1973 Samita Border Skirmish
Part of Iraq–Kuwait relations
Map of Kuwait showing Warbah Island and Bubiyan Island
Date 20 March – 9 April, 1973 (20 days) Location Al-Samita outpost, Kuwait Result See Aftermath section
Belligerents
Kuwait	Iraq
Commanders and leaders
Sabah III Mubarak Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Saleh Mohammed Al-Sabah †	Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr
Units involved
Kuwait National Guard	Iraqi Armed Forces
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
12 killed	2 killed

Following the deterring effect of Operation Vantage and a coup in Iraq, Kuwait and Iraq signed a recognition draft in 1963, however the agreement, never ratified, remained non-binding and was eventually dismissed by the revolutionary council.^[1] Both countries had ongoing border disputes throughout most of the 1960s, although often restrained within the climate of Arab solidarity.

Since 1967 and during 1973, despite the unstable history between the Kuwaiti and the leadership of Iraq back then, the Kuwaiti military acted in alliance with the Iraqi military during the Six-Day War and participated with a token force during the 1973 October War of the same year.