Codigo Secreto

assorbito:

The Kuwaiti oil fires were caused by Iraqi military forces setting fire to a reported 605 to 732 oil wells as part of a scorched earth policy while retreating from Kuwait in 1991 due to the advances of Coalition military forces in the Persian Gulf War. 

Fires of Kuwait is a 1992 American documentary film recorded the extinguishing efforts that followed.

It is also hypothesized that Iraq decided to destroy the oil fields to achieve a military advantage, believing the intense smoke plumes serving as smoke screens created by the burning oil wells would inhibit Coalition offensive air strikes. It was predicted that the fires would burn from two to five years before losing pressure and going out on their own.