Three killed as 'hiding terrorists' are stormed

At least three people - including a suspected terrorist, a security officer and a Bahraini building resident - died in the skirmish.

The clash was the third battle this month between security forces and suspected militants in the capital.

Kuwait, a major ally of the US, has been battling fundamentalists who oppose the presence of US military in their country.

The dead suspect, Nasser Slaif al-Enezi, was a fundamentalist high on Kuwait’s most-wanted list, an interior ministry source said yesterday.

The official said two other suspects had been arrested, including an injured man.

Kuwaiti Television broadcast footage of a white, six-floor building in the Salmiyah neighbourhood which had bullet marks and shattered windows on one floor.

Blood covered the floor in front of an elevator on one floor and a body lying on a flight of stairs was shown. A police officer was shown picking up a machine gun, a CD, and a diskette in what appeared to be an apartment room.

Four police officers were injured in the shoot-out, according to the statement, which identified the Bahraini as Mahmoud Abdul Aziz.

Salmiyah is a residential neighbourhood where many foreign residents live.

Earlier this month police engaged in two deadly clashes with armed militants, resulting in the deaths of two suspects and two police officers. Authorities have arrested more than 25 Kuwaiti and Saudi suspects since clashes earlier this month. Seven of them, including a woman, have been referred to the prosecution for planning terrorist attacks or failing to report such plans to the police.

On Saturday, the US Embassy reiterated a warning to its citizens, saying that "the possibility exists of further violent clashes" as security officials pursued those involved in the shoot-outs. A message posted on the embassy website also warned that terrorists may "seek softer targets, such as public transportation, and public areas where people congregate".

The messages were the latest in several security-related messages from the embassy in January.

On 10 January, a Kuwaiti fundamentalist and two policemen were killed in a clash in a Kuwait City suburb.

Five days later, a Saudi fundamentalist was killed in a shoot-out at Umm al-Haiman, near the Saudi border.

Kuwait has had close ties with Washington since a US-led coalition liberated it in 1991 from a seven-month Iraqi occupation. The country was the launch-pad for the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and it is still a logistics stop for the US troops serving there.

Since 2002, fundamentalists have carried out attacks against Americans, killing one US Marine and a civilian American military contractor.