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2003-01-21 Arabia
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Ambush Kills American, Wounds Another in Kuwait
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A hail of automatic rifle fire killed an American working for the U.S. military and wounded another in an ambush on their car Tuesday near a U.S. base in Kuwait where Washington is preparing for a possible war on Iraq. The United States embassy condemned the incident as a terrorist attack. It was the third time since October that Americans have been killed or injured in attacks in Kuwait. The men were ambushed at around 9:15 a.m. (0615 GMT) while driving on a highway north of Kuwait City near Camp Doha, the main U.S. army base in Kuwait. The U.S. embassy said they were contractors with a firm working for the Defense Department.
Heard they were software engineers moving between camps.
Kuwaiti police said one or more attackers had opened fire from trees and bushes at the side of the road before escaping. Cartridge cases believed to be from rounds fired from a Kalashnikov rifle or rifles were found at the scene.
Reuters journalists at the scene said the dead man's body was removed from a tan-colored four-wheel-drive vehicle about two hours after the attack. Dozens of police sealed off roads in the area, and Kuwait's interior minister visited the scene.
One side of the vehicle was riddled with more than 20 bullets, and the windshield was also fractured. Some of the side windows had been shot out completely. A pool of blood was visible on the road, until police covered it with sand.
"We condemn this terrorist incident which has tragically cost the life of an innocent American citizen," the U.S. ambassador to Kuwait, Richard Jones, said in a statement. "We have full confidence that the Kuwaiti authorities will pursue their investigation of the incident vigorously and professionally."
The embassy said the injured man had been shot in the shoulder and thigh and was in hospital in Kuwait City.
More than 15,000 U.S. soldiers are in Kuwait and more are arriving every week ahead of a possible war with Iraq. The military also employs a large number of U.S. civilian contractors to help run its camps. Last November, a Kuwaiti policeman shot and seriously wounded two U.S. soldiers on a highway south of Kuwait City and the previous month two Kuwaitis attacked U.S. Marines training on an island, killing one. There have also been several reports of shots fired at U.S. troops training in the Kuwaiti desert.
Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah sent his condolences to his U.S. counterpart Colin Powell.
"Kuwaiti strongly condemns such criminal acts which aim to harm the historical relations and strong ties between two friendly countries," the state news agency quoted him as saying.
Earlier this week Kuwaiti officials said they had arrested a Kuwaiti soldier suspected of spying for Iraq. Kuwaiti newspapers have said the man had been plotting attacks on U.S. targets in Kuwait, including a possible attempt to poison U.S. troops. Kuwait is likely to be a launchpad for a U.S. invasion of Iraq if Baghdad does not satisfy Washington's demand that it prove itself free of weapons of mass destruction. Iraq insists it has no chemical, biological or nuclear arms. Kuwait is a key U.S. ally and the government is publicly grateful to Washington for leading the 1991 Gulf War that drove out occupying Iraqi troops from the oil-rich country. But many Kuwaitis -- and other Arabs -- are angry at the United States for its support for Israel against the Palestinians and policies in the region. Kuwait also has a vocal Islamist opposition. On the streets of Kuwait City, Kuwaitis said they were shocked by the incident.
"I am dismayed," said teacher Waleed al-Mullah. "If someone has a problem (with the U.S. presence) they should discuss it in a peaceful way and not grab a gun."
Going after soft targets. Expect that more of these will take place before its over. 
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Posted by Steve 2003-01-21 08:05 am||
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