Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=01/21/03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=KUWAIT/SHOOTING(SHORT)

NUMBER=2-298601

BYLINE= GREG LAMOTTE

DATELINE=CAIRO

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: An American civilian has been killed and another has been wounded in an ambush near Kuwait City. VOA's Greg LaMotte reports from our Middle East Bureau in Cairo.

TEXT: The two American men were civilian contractors working for the U-S military in Kuwait, according to a U-S embassy spokesman (John Moran) in the emirate.

The shooting occurred about nine o'clock Tuesday morning, local time, just north of Kuwait City, at an intersection several kilometers from Camp Doha, where as many as ten thousand U-S troops are stationed to prepare for a possible attack on neighboring Iraq.

The two men were in a Toyota Landcruiser that was struck several times by gunfire. The driver was shot in the shoulder and the leg and is said to be in stable condition at a local hospital. His passenger was shot several times and died as a result of his wounds.

Authorities say it appears the gunman or gunmen may have been laying in wait in a nearby agricultural area, and ambushed the car as it was driving by.

No one has claimed responsibility for the shooting. A manhunt is underway.

There were also attacks on Americans in Kuwait in October and November

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NEB/GL/AWP