US Embassy confirms troops came under ‘terror’ attack
GIs pulled attacker from burning truck
KUWAIT: A collision between a truck driven by an Egyptian and a vehicle carrying three US soldiers in Kuwait was a “terrorist attack”, not an accident as first thought, the embassy confirmed yesterday. “US Embassy in Kuwait confirms that what at first appeared to be a routine traffic accident involving three deployed US military personnel... was in fact an attempted terrorist attack,” the mission said in a statement posted on its website. The statement said the attack took place on Thursday and that the US soldiers escaped unhurt.
The soldiers also rescued the Egyptian driver when his truck caught fire, it said. The Kuwaiti interior ministry said on Saturday that authorities arrested the Egyptian driver and found with him a handwritten note in which he had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. It also said that the driver, identified as Ibrahim Suleiman, 28, also carried a belt and material suspected of being explosives. The ministry said the attack was on five Americans without saying they were troops.
The US embassy said it was not aware of specific, credible threats against private US citizens in Kuwait at this time. But it warned that the attack serves as a reminder to maintain a high level of vigilance, advising US citizens to review their personal security plans and remain alert. The embassy did not say where the troops were stationed, but American forces are deployed to Kuwait’s Camp Arifjan. Kuwaiti authorities announced in July they had dismantled three IS cells plotting attacks, including a suicide bombing against a Shiite mosque and against an interior ministry target.— Agencies