GULF WATCH: Day 82 : A daily briefing paper on developments in the crisis : Hostage Front:

The head of a Iraqi-American group said that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein pledged in a weekend meeting to release some sick and elderly American hostages. As many as 57 Americans reportedly could be affected. There was no confirmation of a possible release from the State Department, however. U.S. officials noted that two more Americans and seven Britons were detained in Kuwait over the weekend.

Former British Prime Minister Edward Heath, who visited Hussein over the weekend, said that Baghdad has promised to release some ailing and elderly British hostages today.

Military Front:

U.S. and Australian sailors boarded an Iraqi-flagged vessel in the Gulf of Oman but allowed it to proceed to Yemen after a search revealed it was no longer carrying prohibited cargo, military officials said. The vessel, which Sunday ignored warning shots, had been loaded with steel and plywood. U.S. officials said that the cargo must have been dumped overboard.

Defense Secretary Dick Cheney said Iraq has captured some of Kuwait’s cache of U.S.-made Hawk anti-aircraft missiles and apparently is trying to learn how to use the weapons.

Economic Front:

The price of oil plunged $5 a barrel in hectic and panicky New York trading. Analysts attributed the drop to optimism caused by reports of Iraq moving troops away from the Saudi border and by Iraq’s promise that it will release some British hostages.

Crisis Indicators:

* Americans trapped in Kuwait and Iraq: 700 to 800

* Americans rounded up, detained: 106

* Seriously ill Americans held: 69

* Total Western hostages: 5,000