During the Gulf War 84 patients underwent surgery in the Jubail Armed Forces Hospital, Saudi Arabia. The median time to evacuate casualties to hospital was 8 h 40 min. Fragments caused 88 per cent of injuries; 11 per cent were caused by bullets. Multiple lesions were encountered in 70 per cent of patients. The extremities ( 76 per cent) were the most frequently injured site, the lower limbs more so than the upper. Soft tissue injuries prevailed (59 per cent).