KUWAIT: One US civilian was killed and another seriously injured yesterday during an attack in Kuwait near Camp Doha, one of the military headquarters where US troops are preparing for war against Iraq.
The two men, who worked as defence contractors with the US military, were attacked as they left the camp and waited at a set of traffic light in what defence officials have called "a carefully planned ambush". A US embassy official said: "This is a terrible crime which we will be doing everything in our power to stop from happening again." White House spokesman Mr Ari Fleischer said: "The President's heart goes out to the families affected by this attack." No group has claimed responsibility for the shooting but Kuwaiti police have begun a joint investigation with US forces into Islamic fundamentalist organisations in Kuwait with possible links to al-Qaeda.
Kuwaiti defence officials have also not ruled out the possibility that the attack is the work of Iraqi sympathisers following the arrest last week of a Kuwaiti national accused of spying for Iraq and planning to carry out attacks on US military installations.
"Although the pattern of the attack bears all the hallmark of al-Qaeda we will be exploring every avenue," said an official.
US authorities named the murdered man as Mr Michael Rene Pouliot, a 46-year-old software designer working for the US Department of Defence at several military bases in Kuwait.
The identity of the injured man has been withheld, although he was reported to be in a serious but not life-threatening condition.
The latest killing follows a series of shootings that have troubled the small Gulf state. In October last year, two al-Qaeda gunmen claimed the life of one US marine. Four other soldiers have been injured in a spate of violence since, despite the tightening of security as thousands of US soldiers are deployed in the country.
An officer at Camp Doha said there would be no interruption in the deployment of troops - 150,000 US troops are due to arrive in Kuwait by the end of February, and 30,000 British troops are now on their way.
"This is precisely why we are deploying in the region as part of our President's war on terrorism and to rout out extremists wherever they may be," said the officer. "An attack like this just strengthens our resolve to continue bringing the fight to terrorists."
At the scene of the shooting which occurred at 9 a.m. during the busy rush hour, the bullet-riddled jeep used by the two men was removed and the pool of blood from the attack was hastily cleaned up.
Surrounding roads were closed off for several hours as police began the painstaking task of searching for forensic evidence.
Preliminary police reports suggest that as many as 20 rounds from a Kalashnikov rifle were fired by one or more assailants as they hid in bushes by the side of the road before using a waiting car to make their getaway.
Following the attack the US embassy in Kuwait has cancelled its social programmes and is reviewing its advice to American citizens living in the country.
British nationals are already advised by the Foreign Office to be vigilant while visiting Kuwait, although that situation is now under review.
A US defence contractor living in Kuwait said: "The expats are in a state of shock at the moment, but we're all trying to keep calm and avoid drawing attention to the fact that we're American." The attack, coming after an apparent lull in terrorist activity is also an embarrassment to Kuwaitis grateful to the US for its role in driving out invading Iraqi forces during the first Gulf War.
But as US forces continue their build-up for war against Iraq, there is a growing core of Islamic fundamentalists who have been voicing anger at their presence in Kuwait.
An official at Kuwait's interior ministry said: "Unless peace returns to the region there is no way of stopping further attacks."