(AP PHOTO)Following a few days of respite, fears of a wider war in the Middle East have grown. (AP PHOTO) Credit: AAPThe United States and Iran have each fired barrages of missiles, as the pattern of back-and-forth strikes takes hold again and hopes dim for a quick end to the five-month conflict. An Iranian strike hit a Chinese firm's building in Kuwait on Thursday, severely damaging the structure and killing a worker, Kuwait's military said, hours after Jordan's air defences shot down five missiles launched from Iran. Also on Wednesday, British maritime security firm Ambrey said drone strikes ignited fires on two natural gas vessels at the Egyptian port of Damietta. That route became even more important during the war, as Saudi Arabia used it to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.