| Failaka Island attack | |
|---|---|
.png) A Lithuanian map of Failaka Island with it highlighted, in relation to mainland Kuwait and neighboring countries. | |
| Location | Failaka Island, Kuwait |
| Coordinates | 29°27′11″N 48°20′10″E / 29.453°N 48.336°E |
| Date | October 8, 2002 11:00 a.m. (UTC+03:00) |
| Target | U.S. Marines on a training exercise |
Attack type | Motorized small arms assault |
| Weapons | Kalashnikov rifles, pickup truck |
| Deaths | 3 (including two attackers) |
| Injured | 1 U.S. marine wounded (WIA) |
| Victims | 1 U.S. marine killed † |
| Perpetrators | Anas Al Kandari and Jassem al-Hajiri † |
| Assailants | 2 armed gunmen |
| Motive | Jihadism and anti-Americanism |
The Faylaka Island attack took place on October 8, 2002, when two Kuwaiti citizens with ties to Al-Qaeda jihadists in Afghanistan attacked a group of unarmed United States Marines conducting a training exercise on a Kuwaiti island, killing one before being killed themselves. The attackers were reported to have served as volunteers with the Taliban in Afghanistan, prior to the U.S. invasion of that country in response to the September 11 attacks of 2001.
The Marines were on a training exercise on Failaka Island, an island off the coast of Kuwait. One U.S. Marine was killed and another was seriously injured. The two Kuwaiti attackers were killed after Marines returned fire in self-defense. The marines' rifles were loaded with blank rounds for the training exercise, but they were able to engage their Kuwaiti attackers with their pistols.