Military

DATE=11/21/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-296689

TITLE=KUWAIT/AMBUSH (L)

BYLINE=GREG LAMOTTE

DATELINE=CAIRO

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: A gunman wounded two U-S soldiers in Kuwait during what authorities are calling an ambush. From our Middle East bureau in Cairo,

V-O-A's Greg LaMotte reports the attack occurred on a highway near Kuwait City.

TEXT: One of the soldiers was shot in the face, the other in the shoulder, apparently by a lone gunman who was reportedly able to escape.

The Associated Press reported the men managed to drive themselves to a nearby town where they were airlifted to a Kuwaiti military hospital. Both soldiers are said to be in serious but stable condition.

According to a U-S military spokesman, neither of the injuries appears to be life-threatening.

The spokesman said the two were shot while traveling between Camp Doha military base and a U-S military base south of Kuwait City. He said the soldiers did not return fire.

The attack was the fifth shooting incident involving U-S personnel in Kuwait in less than two months.

On October 8th a U-S Marine was killed and another injured by two Kuwaiti gunmen, who were then shot and killed by other U-S troops. The attack occurred during U-S military training exercises on Failaka Island, about 20-kilometers east of Kuwait City.

Following that attack Kuwaiti authorities said they arrested 15-people believed to have been involved.

On October 9th U-S troops reported firing on a vehicle near Kuwait City. The shooting occurred after the occupants in the vehicle allegedly pointed a weapon at the troops. No one was injured in that incident.

On October 14th shots were fired from two civilian vehicles in the vicinity of where U-S troops were training. Again, no one was injured.

And On November 2nd shots were fired in an area where U-S troops were located. One of the two assailants was shot and killed during the attack. Kuwaiti officials said that attacker had sworn allegiance to al-Qaida terror network leader Osama bin Laden.

Following that attack, Kuwaiti officials restricted access to the northwest part of the Gulf state where joint U-S-Kuwaiti military exercises continue.

The latest shooting is being investigated by Kuwaiti authorities and the U-S Criminal Investigation Command. (SIGNED)

NEB/GL/AWP/RAE