The Iraqi military retaliated to the pre-dawn attack o­n Baghdad by firing missiles into Northern Kuwait, said a Kuwaiti Defence Ministry spokesperson today.

At the same time, Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed Sahaf said that at least o­ne civillian was dead and scores injured following the early morning US missile attacks ( photo ).

According to a Reuters report, at about 5.30pm (Malaysian time), a Scud missile hit Northern Kuwait while two other smaller Chinese-made missiles were also fired earlier and landed in the northern desert.

Separately, US officers said two Scuds hit Kuwait, and another two were inbound.

The official Kuwaiti News Agency said two Scuds fired at Kuwait were shot down by US Patriot anti-missile batteries.

No reports of casualties

According to a Washington Post report, the missile attack prompted US troops in Kuwait to put o­n gas masks. Military officials said the missiles did not have chemical warheads.

There were no immediate reports of any casualties or damage from the Iraqi missiles, and soldiers were given the all-clear.

CNN reported that the US Patriot missile knocked an Iraqi Scud out of the sky today afternoon about two hours after two other Scuds landed without injury near the US forces' main logistics center in the Kuwaiti desert, the military said.

According to CNN , the first incident happened at about 10:30 am, when a "missile-like" object hurtled past Camp Iwo Jima about 300 feet away. The Marines who got the best look at the object said it was self-propelled and green with yellow stripes.

A British government report last September said Iraq had retained up to 20 Soviet-designed Scud missiles since the 1991 Gulf War with a range of up to 650km and capable of reaching nations including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, Turkey and Iran.

In other development, 17 Iraqi soldiers ( photo ) surrendered to US troops o­n Wednesday. They were believed to be the first of their countrymen to give up a move the US Air Force has been actively encouraging by showering the Iraqi landscape with more than two million leaflets in anticipation of a ground war.