Kuwait seizes five vessels with goods from Iraq

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait (Reuters) -- Kuwait said on Thursday that it had seized five vessels loaded with goods shipped from former occupier Iraq in violation of United Nations sanctions.

The Interior Ministry said in a statement that the wooden ships were carrying 520 goats, 402 sheep, 872 tonnes of Iraqi dates and other goods.

Fifty-one sailors of various nationalities were also arrested when the vessels were stopped in Kuwaiti territorial waters.

An international force led by U.S. warships patrols the narrow Gulf waterway to enforce strict U.N. sanctions imposed against Iraq since its 1990 invasion of fellow Kuwait.

The U.S.-led 1991 Gulf War ended the Iraqi occupation.

So far this year, Kuwait has seized some 25 vessels for trying to smuggle oil and other products out of Iraq.

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