The Republic of Kuwait was a short-lived and self-styled republic formed in the aftermath of the invasion of Kuwait by Ba'athist Iraq during the early stages of the Persian Gulf War. During the invasion, the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council stated that it had sent troops into the State of Kuwait in order to assist an internal coup d'état initiated by "Kuwaiti revolutionaries." A Provisional Government of Free Kuwait was set up on August 4 by the Iraqi authorities under the leadership of 9 allegedly Kuwaiti military officers (4 colonels and 5 majors) led by Alaa Hussein Ali, who was given the posts of Head of State (Rais al-Wuzara), commander-in-chief, minister of defense and minister of the interior.