Kuwait arrests Egyptian after failed attack on U.S. soldiers

KUWAIT CITY — An Egyptian driving a garbage truck loaded with explosives and Islamic State papers rammed into a truck carrying five U.S. soldiers in Kuwait on Saturday, injuring only himself in the attack, authorities said.

The attempted attack is the first by the Islamic State group to target American troops in the tiny, oil-rich emirate that’s a stalwart U.S. ally. It comes as authorities already increased security ahead of a major Shiite commemoration in the coming days.

Kuwait’s Interior Ministry identified the attacker as Ibrahim Sulaiman, born in 1988, and published a picture of the alleged assailant in a hospital bed, a bruise beneath his right eye. The ministry said the five soldiers were not injured. It said Sulaiman had multiple fractures and injuries.

It was not immediately clear if the Egyptian had a lawyer. The ministry did not offer a location for the failed attack, though it published pictures of the aftermath of the crash showing a wrecked garbage truck, as well as items it described as a suicide belt loaded with shrapnel.

The white pickup truck apparently carrying the soldiers had the left side of its bed smashed in.

American forces and others have troops stationed at Kuwait’s Camp Arifjan. The U.S. military’s Central Command referred a request for comment to U.S. Army Central, based in both South Carolina and Kuwait. The Army did not immediately respond, while the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait City had no immediate comment.

Kuwait is a solid U.S. ally following the 1991 American-led Gulf War that ended the Iraqi occupation there. Terror attacks are rare in the emirate, where Shiites and Sunni Muslims largely live in peace.

KUWAIT MINISTRY OF INTERIORS VIA AP A damaged garbage truck is seen Saturday after it rammed into another truck carrying five U.S. soldiers in Kuwait. Authorities said the Egyptian driving the truck injured only himself in the attack.