Gulf War

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The Gulf War was a military operation by the United States and 41 allied nations against Iraq, in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990. Days later, under the codename of Operation Desert Shield, the coalition began a buildup of forces in Saudi Arabia. The allied offensive, codenamed Operation Desert Storm, was launched on 17 January 1991 with aerial bombing of Iraq. Desert Storm culminated with an invasion of Kuwait by ground forces on 24 February 1991. The country was soon liberated and the conflict ended four days later on 28 February.

During the five-week bombardment, Iraqi president Saddam Hussein ordered the firing of SCUD missiles against Israel, which was not a member of the coalition. Saddam hoped that an Israeli response would split the coalition by alienating its Muslim-majority countries. However, the provocation failed as the Israelis did not retaliate and few Islamic countries sided with Iraq.