The shipment, which includes eight armoured vehicles, firearms and ammunition, was delivered by a chartered plane at Abdullah Al-Mubarak Air Base next to Kuwait civilian airport, an AFP correspondent reported.

The equipment was moved to Camp Virginia, a US military camp in the desert some 70 kilometers (45 miles) west of Kuwait City, where the Japanese ground troops are staying before moving into Iraq to begin their humanitarian mission. The ground forces unit, which landed here Saturday, is the second contingent from the Japanese Self-Defense Forces to arrive in Kuwait after an air force unit that came on December 27.

The advance unit will prepare for the deployment of a 600-strong force inside Iraq, launching Japan's most controversial overseas military mission since World War II.

Under the plan, troops will be sent to the southeastern Iraqi province of Muthanna to engage in non-combat operations such as providing medical services and water supplies, restoring war-damaged buildings and transporting material, but not weapons.

The Japanese troops will undergo some training before leaving for Iraq.

WAR.WIRE