Bomb Escalates Kuwait War of Nerves

A small bomb exploded Saturday night in central Kuwait, the third major incident in the wake of threats by Lebanese extremists to disrupt this week’s summit conference of Islamic leaders.

Local reporters said the bomb was placed in an abandoned car near a shopping center behind the city’s Meridien Hotel.

The explosion echoed throughout the central business district but apparently caused little damage. There were no injuries reported.

Hundreds of Kuwaiti policemen fanned out through the city, checking parked cars for other bombs. Security was stepped up and roadblocks were established.

The bomb was the latest in what has developed into a war of nerves between the Kuwaiti government and extremist groups believed to have ties to Iran.

Iran has complained that Kuwait is a poor site for the Organization of the Islamic Conference summit meeting scheduled to start here Monday and has so far refused to take part in any of the preliminary talks that have been held at the foreign minister level.

Furthermore, a number of pro-Iranian groups in Lebanon have threatened action against Kuwait if the conference opens as scheduled.

Last Monday night, three fires erupted at Kuwaiti oil installations. Western diplomats said the fires followed four explosions at the petroleum facilities, but the Kuwaiti government has not offered any explanation for the blazes.

Wednesday night, what was officially described as an artillery shell crashed into an island just off the Kuwaiti coast. The blast was not explained.

Diplomats believe the Kuwaitis are playing down the terrorist attacks before the conference in hopes of ensuring a high turnout by heads of state.

The Islamic conference has 46 member states, and Kuwait is expecting 27 leaders to attend.

On Saturday, Syrian President Hafez Assad was quoted in a local newspaper as saying that he planned to attend the meeting.

In an interview with the newspaper Al Qabas, Assad said that Syria would never permit Iraqi territory to be annexed by Iran in the 6 1/2-year-old Persian Gulf War.

“We will not agree to an expansion of the war to any country, by which I mean Arab countries in the gulf, nor to annexation of Arab or Iraqi territory,” Assad said. “We fully adhere to this position, and all sides, including Iran, are aware of our stand.”