Rense.com

 
Kuwaiti Policeman Shoots
Two U.S. Soldiers
By Andrew Marshall
11-21-2

KUWAIT (Reuters) - A Kuwaiti policeman shot and seriously wounded two U.S. soldiers on Thursday, the Kuwaiti government said, in the latest in a series of shootings targeting U.S. troops training in the country.
 
The interior ministry said in a statement that the attacker was a junior policeman who fled across the border to Saudi Arabia after shooting the soldiers.
 
"The culprit of this criminal act fled to...Saudi Arabia and coordination is under way with security authorities in the kingdom to arrest and hand him over," the statement said.
 
A U.S. military spokesman said the two soldiers were shot around 10:30 a.m. (0730 GMT) while traveling between the Camp Doha military base on the northern outskirts of Kuwait City and Arifjan, 35 miles to the south of the capital.
 
They were traveling in a civilian vehicle when they were stopped and shot.
 
"They are in a serious but stable condition. One of them was shot in the face, the other in the shoulder. Neither injury is life-threatening," the U.S. spokesman said.
 
The soldiers were flown to a military hospital in Kuwait City for treatment.
 
Some 10,000 U.S. troops are in Kuwait for the Operation Desert Spring training exercise. Earlier this month, Kuwait sealed off large portions of the country to safeguard the security of the military exercises.
 
Last month two Kuwaitis attacked U.S. Marines training on a Kuwaiti island, killing one and wounding another.
 
Since then, there have been several reports of shots fired at U.S. soldiers training in the desert, although some Kuwaiti officials blame bird hunters.
 
The incidents coincide with mounting tension over a possible U.S.-led war in neighboring Iraq -- likely to feature U.S. troops based in Kuwait -- if Iraq 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.
 
Kuwaiti Defense Minister Sheikh Jaber al-Hamad al-Sabah condemned the attack and said it would not hurt strong ties with the United States.
 
"This incident is alien to Kuwaiti society, and the people share the government's position about seeking help from the American forces to bolster Kuwait's security and independence," he was quoted as saying by the state-run KUNA news agency.
 
"No individual or individuals involved in criminal acts can change this fact and impose their sick objectives on Kuwait. This incident will not affect continued defense cooperation with the United States but instead will encourage further security coordination... and boost preemptive measures.
 
In the aftermath of the October 8 attack that killed a Marine training on a Kuwaiti island, Kuwait said it had rounded up a 15-man cell which had plotted the attack and which was indirectly linked to Osama bin Laden 's al Qaeda network.
 
Marines shot and killed the two attackers.
 
Kuwaiti security sources say a number of suspected al Qaeda members have been arrested in Kuwait following the capture two weeks ago of 21-year-old Mohsen al-Fadhli, alleged to be a senior al Qaeda operative in the region.
 
They say Fadhli was a key member of an al Qaeda cell planning to bomb a hotel in Yemen and that during interrogation he had also provided information about the October 6 attack in Yemen which gutted the French supertanker Limburg.
 
Copyright © 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.







MainPage
http://www.rense.com


This Site Served by TheHostPros