Fire was seen coming from Souk Sharq, one of Kuwait's largest shopping malls, close to the foreign ministry and the emir's palace, they said.

The mall would have been closed when the explosion took place at around 0145 (2245 GMT). Police cars, fire engines and ambulances were racing to the scene.

An AFP correspondent in the city said the air raid sirens, which are supposed to give warning of incoming missiles, did not go off.

Since the start of the week-old war on Iraq, some 15 Iraqi missiles have been fired at the emirate, from where tens of thousands of US and British troops have moved into Iraq.

WAR.WIRE