During the morning of July 18, 2026, a number of firefighters and at least one oil workers were injured following alleged Iranian drone attacks in Kuwait. The names of the casualties were not found among local sources.
The day of the attacks, the Kuwait Army posted on Twitter/X that its official spokesperson, "Colonel Saud Abdulaziz Al-Atwan, stated: Since dawn today, the Armed Forces have detected hostile ballistic missiles and drones within Kuwaiti airspace, which were intercepted and engaged. He added that the treacherous Iranian aggression continued to target a number of military and security installations, as well as several vital and civilian facilities in the country. The attacks targeted facilities belonging to the oil, electricity, and water sectors, resulting in fires and significant damage to a number of facilities and installations. He noted that the relevant authorities have begun firefighting and repair operations. This resulted in injuries to a number of firefighters and oil sector workers while they were performing their duties. They are receiving the necessary medical care and treatment. The interception of the hostile attacks also resulted in debris falling in a number of locations and residential areas, causing material damage, but thankfully, no human casualties were reported.”
This description seems to indicate that casualties resulted from the Iranian strike(s) rather than from interceptions of Iranian munitions, although interceptions did reportedly take place. As there is no relation of the interceptions to the civilian harm incident, this has been graded as a "likely" Iranian attack.
A number of sources reported damage to several infrastructure elements as a result of the attacks, with several posting photos and videos of burning or damaged facilities in Kuwait. According to Akhbaar24 news outlet, “the Ministry of Electricity, Water, and Renewable Energy announced that another power and water desalination plant was subjected to a hostile attack, resulting in a fire in one of the plant's components.” Citing the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, KUNA reported “a number of injuries and significant material losses after one of the vital sites in the oil sector was subjected this morning, Saturday, to repeated brutal Iranian attacks.” According to BBC News, “Kuwait announced that a second power and water desalination plant and an oil sector site were targeted in Iranian attacks.” Deutsche Welle Arabic (DW Arabic) reported that “Kuwait announced that a second power plant was attacked by Iran, resulting in a fire and injuries among firefighters.”
According to the Twitter/X account of the Kuwait Fire Force, “The official spokesperson for the General Fire Force, Brigadier General Mohammed Bader Ibrahim, announced that firefighting teams successfully contained two fires that broke out in two different locations across the country on Saturday afternoon. These fires were caused by attacks resulting from the Iranian aggression against the country. Five firefighting teams, supported by teams from the oil sector, responded to the first fire, while three teams responded to the second.” The statement explained that “the incident at the first location resulted in injuries to several firefighters and an oil sector worker due to renewed targeting of the site during firefighting operations. They received first aid and were then transferred to the emergency medical services before being taken to the hospital for treatment.” In the post, “Brigadier General Mohammed Bader added that the General Fire Force teams also responded to three separate fires caused by falling shrapnel in several residential areas. These fires were successfully contained and extinguished, with damage limited to property and no injuries reported.” In another post, the account shared photos of seven men being treated in the hospital and said they “were injured in an attack on a site during a firefighting operation this morning, following the Iranian aggression.” All of the victims appeared conscious and alert.
On July 19, the Twitter/X account of the Kuwait Fire Force posted a video showing “part of the visit of His Excellency the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Sheikh Fahd Yousef Saud Al-Sabah, to the injured members of the General Fire Force following the heinous Iranian attacks.” The clip showed the official and his staffers visiting two additional hospitalized men, both of whom were conscious and alert.
Al Mayadeen TV posted a video on Facebook, reporting that “the Iranian army has released footage of suicide drone launches in the 14th phase of Operation "Thunderbolt," which targeted US forces' ammunition and fuel depots at the Ali Salem base in Kuwait and the Azraq base in Jordan.” At the time of writing, it is not clear if this is the same site in Kuwait where the aforementioned injuries occurred.
Where sources identified a belligerent, all attributed the strike to Iranian forces.