UN: Kuwait invasion fund pays out $1.24 billion

GENEVA (AP) -- The U.N. panel that settles claims for damages from victims of Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait has paid out another $1.24 billion — bringing the total so far to $43.5 billion.

The U.N. Compensation Commission did not disclose the identities of the claimants Thursday but said the money goes toward settling a claim from the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation over production and sales losses from damages to Kuwait's oil fields.

The Geneva-based commission was established by the U.N. Security Council in 1991 and is funded by a 5 percent tax on the export of Iraqi oil. It has approved $52.4 billion in total compensation to more than 100 governments and international organizations, and makes payments every three months.