CNN.com January 24, 2003
Kuwaiti ambush survivor: 'Getting better'
Police said to link evidence to Kuwaiti suspect
KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait (CNN) -- A U.S. civilian wounded in a deadly ambush in Kuwait said Friday his health is improving -- but said he didn't remember anything about the attack.
"I'm getting better," said David Caraway, 37, survivor of Tuesday's ambush that has resulted in the arrest and reported confession of a Kuwaiti man. His condition has been upgraded from serious to stable.
Caraway and another U.S. civilian -- Michael Rene Pouliot -- were ambushed as they drove a sport-utility vehicle on the main road leading from the U.S. military's Camp Doha. Two dozen rounds were fired on the vehicle.
Pouliot, 46, died at the scene. Caraway, who was driving the vehicle, sustained six gunshot wounds.
"I don't remember anything," Caraway told reporters as he was being transferred by ambulance to another Kuwaiti hospital. "I was stopped at a red light, didn't see anyone. We were hit with the first volley of machine gun fire."
When asked whether the attack had changed his feelings about Kuwait he said, "It doesn't change my feelings at all. We're still doing the right thing."
Both Pouliot and Caraway were employed by Tapestry Solutions, a San Diego-based company that designs software to allow the U.S. military to coordinate its operations.
An estimated 9,000 U.S. troops are in Kuwait to support regional headquarters for the U.S. 3rd Army and the Army component of U.S. Central Command and the Coalition/Joint Task Force-Kuwait. In addition, the 201st Military Intelligence Battalion, 54th Signal Battalion and 831st Transportation Battalion are based here, according to the military research group Globalsecurity.org.
Ambush victim Michael Pouliot
The camp was established after the liberation of Kuwait in 1991. In late 2002 and early 2003, tanks, heavy artillery, bombers and AC-130 gunships were moved here from other regional bases, including those in Saudi Arabia.
Police have matched bullets found at the scene of Tuesday's ambush to a gun retrieved at the workplace of a Kuwaiti man, government sources said Friday.
Sami Mohammed Marzouk Obaid Al-Mutaryi, 25, a Kuwait civil servant, was extradited from Saudi Arabia Thursday after he was arrested while crossing the border. Kuwaiti officials said he was not carrying a passport.
Police have also reportedly matched fingerprints found on the gun to Al-Mutaryi and tire tracks found near the scene to a Lexus that Al-Mutaryi said he used during the attack, Kuwaiti officials said.
Al-Mutaryi was identified and was being sought for questioning soon after the incident took place. Kuwait's Interior Ministry has not said how he was identified, but authorities had said earlier they were reviewing videotape from a traffic camera where Tuesday's attack took place.
Without elaborating, the ministry also said Al-Mutaryi shares beliefs with Osama bin Laden.
He was arrested in 2000 for writing articles questioning the prophet Mohammed. These articles weren't published but he was questioned by Kuwaiti officials and was put under the law enforcement radar then.
Government sources said Al-Mutaryi is the prime suspect, but had partners in the ambush.
He has two brothers who work in the Kuwaiti government. They are both soldiers -- one works for the Defense Ministry and the other one works for the Interior Ministry.
Copyright © 2003, Cable News Network LP, LLLP.
