UK destroyer bound for Gulf

LONDON (Reuter) - The destroyer Edinburgh and a troop of Royal Marines were being sent to the northern Gulf for two or three weeks to take part in military exercises with Kuwait, the Ministry of Defence said yesterday. 'The deployment demonstrates the UK's commitment to Gulf security generally, and in particular to that of Kuwait,' it added.

The announcement, which comes at a time of increased tension between the Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein, and the United States, coincides with exercises in Kuwait by thousands of US troops. Britain committed a 40,000-strong military force to the US-led coalition that drove Iraqi troops out of Kuwait in early 1991.