KUWAIT CITY, April 13: With the fall of the Iraqi regime Kuwait has intensified its efforts to find out about its more than 600 PoWs who disappeared during the Iraq’s 1990-91 occupation of Kuwait.

Kuwait hopes for a speedy end to the suffering of the PoWs and their families, which had lasted for more than 12 years.

Iraq, after four years of boycott, in January attended a series of meetings sponsored by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), but there was little progress.

Some families had expressed concern that the Iraqi regime, while battling the US-led forces, might take revenge on Kuwaiti prisoners, if still held.

More than 605 Kuwaitis and other nationalities went missing or were taken prisoner during the 1990-91 Gulf war.

According to records, apart from Kuwaiti nationals, other nationalities included 14 Saudis, five Egyptians, five Iranians, four Syrians, three Lebanese, one Bahraini, one Omani, and an Indian.