DESERT STORM: DAY 26 : Military

Iraq announced that all 17-year-olds will be conscripted into the army. At the beginning of January, Iraq lowered the age of mandatory military service from 18 to 17, but only for young men not in school. The decree announced over Baghdad radio said conscription will now extend to all 17-year-old males. They were ordered to report to conscription offices between Friday and March 20 or face unspecified legal action.

Iraq fired another round of Scud missiles at Israel and Saudi Arabia. In Israel, a single missile, armed with a conventional warhead, hit in an uninhabited area, and there were no known damage or injuries, officials said. In Riyadh, a Scud fired at the Saudi capital was destroyed by two Patriot missiles, and no damage or injuries were reported.

U.S. and British aircraft teamed up to destroy an Iraqi patrol boat off Kuwait, allied commanders reported. British officials said a Lynx helicopter fired two missiles into the boat and then American planes moved in for the kill.

American pilots on “Scud patrol” claimed likely hits on five Iraqi missile launchers. In Riyadh, U.S. military officials noted pilot reports that three of the mobile launchers believed destroyed in the past two days were in western Iraq, where they could have taken aim at Israel. The two others were in southern Iraq, a launching ground for rocket attacks against Saudi Arabia, the officials said.

Winds slowed the progress of oil slicks in the Persian Gulf. At least three main slicks and many smaller ones still threaten bird and marine life and could clog saltwater-to-freshwater plants that provide drinking water for the Saudis. One plant, in Safaniya, was back to normal, Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Paul Milligan reported.