Gunmen kill US civilian near base in Kuwait

A US civilian was shot dead and another injured today when gunmen opened fire near a US military camp in Kuwait.

A US civilian was shot dead and another injured today when gunmen opened fire near a US military camp in Kuwait.

Both victims were civilian contractors working for the US armed forces, US embassy spokesman said.

He said the pair were in a vehicle on Highway 85 north of Kuwait City when they were attacked. They were near Camp Doha, which is home to 17,000 American troops.

One of the men died of multiple gunshot wounds and the other was wounded, he said.

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There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Other Americans have also come under attack recently in Kuwait - a key US ally in the Gulf.

A US Marine was killed and another wounded on October 8th when two Kuwaiti Muslim fundamentalists opened fire on them as they took a break from training. The attackers were killed by other Marines.

On November 21th, a Kuwaiti policeman shot and seriously injured two US soldiers after stopping their car. Kuwaiti officials said he was mentally disturbed.

Tens of thousands more US and British troops are expected in Kuwait in the build-up to a possible conflict with Iraq.

AP