0
KUWAIT CITY, Oct 8: A United States Marine was killed and another seriously wounded, when two unidentified assailants sprayed bullets on them during war games in Kuwait, on Tuesday. The assailants were also killed in return fire.
Kuwait ministry of defence spokesman Ahmad Al Rehmani said in a statement that the Marines came under fire from unknown assailants near the Failaka Island, an isolated place near the US base camp Doha, where the joint US-Kuwait exercises were going on. He said the US forces killed both the assailants.
Rehmani did not mention the nationalities of the two assailants but, according to the reports available, both appeared to be civilians.
He said a thorough probe had been launched and the investigations were under way on the incident which occurred in the morning. The names of the Marines were withheld until the relatives were informed of the attack.
The joint US-Kuwait war games, Eager Mace 2002, began on Oct 1, in which more than 1,000 Marines are taking part in ground, air and naval training exercises. The Marines are from the 11th Marines Expeditionary Unit from Camp Pendleton, California.
Agencies add: The Kuwaiti interior ministry said in a statement that the shooting on US soldiers was a “terrorist act” and that the two assailants were Kuwaitis.
The ministry identified Anas al-Kandari, 21, and Jassem al-Hajeri, 28, as the pair who opened fire on Marines.
Unofficial Kuwaiti sources said the two men were trained in Afghanistan.
ANNUAL EVENT: The Eager Mace exercise that US marines were taking part in when attacked on Tuesday is a month-long bilateral training event that has been conducted in Kuwait every year since 1994.
US air, sea and land forces are taking part in this year’s exercise with the Kuwaitis “to demonstrate our commitment to Kuwait’s defence”, said Navy Lieutenant Dan Hetlage, a Pentagon spokesman.
About 1,000 marines from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit at Camp Pendelton, California, are taking part.
They were engaged in urban assault training when Tuesday’s attack took place on the Kuwaiti island of Failaka, said Marine Lieutenant Colonel David Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman.
Pentagon officials had said the exercise was also for amphibious warfare drills.
Also taking part in the exercise are the USS Denver, a landing platform dock for amphibious operations, and the USS Mount Vernon, a landing ship dock.
Aircraft from the US Fifth Fleet in the Gulf also were supposed to take part, officials said.
