Casualties rise as war gathers pace across Middle East

IRAN and Iranian-backed militias fired missiles at Israel and Arab states yesterday, apparently hitting the United States embassy compound in Kuwait, while Israel and the US pounded targets in Iran as the Iran war expanded yesterday with statements of defiance and increasing casualties.

- JON GAMBRELL, DAVID RISING & SAMY MAGDY

Smoke rising above Tehran after explosions in the Iranian capital yesterday

The US military said Kuwait had “mistakenly shot down” three American F-15E Strike Eagles during a combat mission while attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones were under way.

‘Atleast 555 people have been killed in Iran so far by the US-Israeli campaign, the Iranian Red Crescent Society said, and more than 130 cities across the country have come under attack, while 11 people have been killed in Israel and 31 in Lebanon, according to authorities in the two countries.

As the attacks on Iran continued, the Hezbollah militant group said it fired missiles from Lebanon into Israel early yesterday in response to the Killing of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, last Saturday and “repeated Israeli aggressions’.

‘There were no reports of injuries or damage, and Israel said that it had intercepted one projectile while several fell in open areas.

Israel retaliated with strikes on Lebanon, killing at least 31 people and wounding 149 others, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. About two thirds of the dead were in the country’s south, the health ministry added.

Lebanon's government said it was holding an emergency meeting after Hezbollah's attack on Israel triggered the Israeli air strikes. Lebanon’s government said Hezbollah’s attacks against Israel were “illegal” and demanded the group hand over its weapons.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said only the state can decide whether to go to war or maintain peace, and called on the Lebanese military to prevent the firing of projectiles and detain anyone involved.

‘The US embassy in Beirut urged Americans to leave Lebanon immediately while commercial flights remain available, saying the security situation “js volatile and unpredictable”