United States forces in Kuwait were caught up in a new shooting incident on Wednesday as Kuwaiti authorities rounded up suspected accomplices of two Kuwaiti gunmen who killed a US marine in an attack the day before.
American soldiers opened fire when their "force protection was threatened" north of Kuwait City, said a source at Camp Doha where US forces are based, north of Kuwait City.
A US defense official in Washington identified the target as a civilian vehicle. "The incident occurred on route 80," a road north of Kuwait City, the source at Camp Doha told AFP.
The soldiers had "left Camp Doha in their training vehicle and were heading to a training area north of the city and north of Mutlaa," an area where exercises are being held.
"Force protection is important to us," the source said. "It's never our intention to be disruptive for the Kuwaiti populace." Asked if anyone was injured, the source said this was "being investigated."
In Washington, meanwhile, a defense official told the news agency that a US soldier in a military vehicle, a Humvee, had shot at a civilian vehicle after being threatened with a firearm by one of its occupants at around 1600 GMT (7:00 pm). "The occupants of the Humvee shot and hit the hood of the civilian vehicle, forcing it off the road," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. (Albawaba.com)
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