Terror shoot-out in Kuwait leaves several dead

Published on 31/01/2005 11:45

SEVERAL people have been killed in a shoot-out with suspected terrorists in Kuwait on the second day of clashes with militants.

Four policemen were wounded when officers stormed a house of suspected militants in al-Qurain, south of Kuwait. Security sources said police were also pursuing about nine suspected militants in the Mubarak al-Kabir neighbourhood.

"There has been a lot of gunfire. There’s been thousands of rounds of ammunition fired," local resident James Busko said.

Today’s raid came a day after security forces battled militants in another residential district in a clash that killed a terrorist suspect, a police officer, and a Bahraini person who was not a suspect.

Kuwait, a major ally of the United States, has been battling Islamic fundamentalists who oppose the presence of American forces in their country.

Today’s shoot-out was the fourth this month. Clashes on January 10 and 15 resulted in the deaths of two suspects and two police offers.

Authorities have arrested more than 25 Kuwaiti and Saudi suspects since the January 15 clashes.

Seven detainees, including a woman, have been referred to prosecutors for planning terrorist attacks or failing to report such plans to the police.

Kuwait is a transit route for foreign troops into Iraq. The Kuwaiti government has cracked down on Islamists opposed to the presence of some 30,000 US troops.

Diplomats say sympathy for al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, is on the rise.