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

Housecarl

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http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/kuwait-arrests-egyptian-after-failed-attack-on-us-soldiers

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

By: Hussain al-Qatari and Jon Gambrell, The Associated Press, October 8, 2016 (Photo Credit: Kuwait Ministry of Interiors via AP)

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.

An Islamic State-claimed suicide bombing in 2015 targeting a Shiite mosque in Kuwait City killed 27 people and wounded scores. The extremist group, which holds territory in both Iraq and Syria, did not immediately claim the failed assault Saturday, though the Interior Ministry described Sulaiman as having "paper in his handwriting indicating he had adopted terrorist thought and had pledged allegiance to the group."

Such attacks on U.S. forces are incredibly rare in Kuwait. In 2003, a former U.S. Army sergeant named Hasan Akbar in the 101st Airborne Division threw four hand grenades into tents in Kuwait as members of his division slept, then fired his rifle at soldiers in the ensuing chaos in the early days of the American-led invasion of Iraq. He was sentenced to death for killing two soldiers and wounding 14.

Earlier in 2002 ahead of the invasion, a U.S. Marine was shot dead and another wounded in an attack by Islamic extremists in Kuwait, while a police officer later shot and wounded two other American soldiers.

The reported failed attack comes ahead of the Shiite commemoration of Ashoura, which marks the death of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala in present-day Iraq in the 7th century.

Kuwaiti police have promised increased security ahead of Ashoura. Two Iranians were arrested in recent days for taking "suspicious" photographs ahead of the commemoration.

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
 
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Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-kuwait-security-idUSKCN1280VC?il=0

WORLD NEWS | Sat Oct 8, 2016 | 4:11pm EDT

Kuwait arrests suspected Islamist after truck attack on Americans

Kuwaiti security forces have detained a suspected Islamist militant who rammed a truck believed to be carrying explosives into a car carrying five Americans, state news agency KUNA reported on Saturday.

The agency quoted an interior ministry statement as saying the Americans were unhurt, but the assailant, identified as Egyptian national Ibrahim Suleiman, was injured and was taken to a hospital under security escort.

"After an initial investigation of the suspect Suleiman, who was born in 1988, by specialized security apparatus, a hand-written note was found indicating that he had adopted the terrorist Daesh ideology and pledged allegiance to this organization," KUNA said, referring to Islamic State.

The agency published a photo of a bearded man. It said a belt and materials believed to be explosives were also found in the vehicle, "suggesting he was plotting a terrorist act".

It was the second time in three months that Western-allied Kuwait had announced it had captured suspected militants.

In July, the OPEC oil exporter and home to U.S. military bases said it had foiled three planned Islamic State attacks on the country, including a plot to blow up a Shi'ite mosque.

Kuwait suffered its deadliest militant attack in decades in June last year when a Saudi suicide bomber blew himself up inside a packed Shi'ite mosque, killing 27 people. Islamic State claimed responsibility.

A U.S. ally and neighbor of Saudi Arabia and Iraq, Kuwait is part of a 34-nation alliance announced by Riyadh in December aimed at countering Islamic State and al Qaeda in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt and Afghanistan.

(Reporting by Sami Aboudi; editing by Andrew Roche)
 

Big Sarge

Old School
Having worked at Camp Arifjan for 5 years and living in an apartment in town, I know that it would be easy to become complacent and not be watching your six when traveling around Kuwait. It is a relatively calm place where most of the time the biggest direct threat is the other crazy kuwati drivers who believe the traffic laws are just suggestions. The military has a few different small operation sites around Kuwait and it is necessary for some military personnel to commute back and forth between them. Most of the time in regular leased civilian vehicles. They have procedures in place when travelling to reduce the possibility of something like this happening but if there is not a current direct threat at the time, they are not gonna be very alert.
 
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