Posted on 01/29/2005 11:50:50 PM PST by HAL9000
A gunbattle has erupted in Kuwait after police raided a building where militants were believed to be hiding.Police cordoned off an area of the city, from where gunfire and small explosions were heard, reports say.
Details of the incident remain limited, although one witness told the AFP news agency the shooting began at 0930 (0630 GMT) on a main street.
There has been a spate of violence in Kuwait which some say is linked to militants connected to al-Qaeda.
Things geting to hot in Iraq for the insurgents?
Oh dear, I hope no one in the building is injured! :^)
Shooting nourished in the east of Kuwait (pilot)
A nourished shooting burst Sunday morning in Salmiya, suburbs in the east of Koweït, after the police force had encircled the zone in the search of suspects islamists, indicated to the AFP witnesses.
"Of the shootings started towards 09H30 (06H30 GMT) after the police force had buckled the principal street where many restaurants are", declared a witness, adding that special forces had arrived in reinforcements in the sector.
A photographer of the AFP on the spot indicated that nourished grenades and shootings were heard in what seems to be a confrontation.
The shooting intervened two weeks after the death of a suspect, Saoudien, in a confrontation between supposed islamists and the police force who tracked extremists sought in the area of Oum Al-Hayman (to 70 km in the south of the capital), near of the border with Saudi Arabia.
January 10, another confrontation close to Kuwait had shown the death of two police officers and a suspect koweitien.
The authorities seized of the weapons and the explosives at the time of raids in the emirate and decree, according to the sheik, Minister of Interior Department Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, about fifteen suspects islamists. But of other suspects, whose spiritual head of the group, are always in escape.
Sheik Nawaf had indicated that the suspects belonged to "an organized group", and the head of the national Guard, sheik Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah, specified that certain members of the group were affiliated with network Al-Qaïda.
The embassies of the United States, Great Britain and France invited these last days their nationals in Kuwait not to go in certain areas of the emirate, warning them against the risk of new armed confrontations.
Gunfire heard in Kuwait City suburb
KUWAIT CITY (AP) -- Heavy gunfire was heard Sunday morning from Salmiyah, a Kuwait City suburb, residents from the neighborhood said.
Gunfire was heard for several minutes and police rushed in to cordon off the area.
Earlier this month police engaged in two deadly clashes with armed militants, resulting in the deaths of two suspects and two police offers.
Kuwait police raid suspected militant hideout
KUWAIT, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Kuwaiti security forces raided a suspected militant hideout in the capital on Sunday, a day after officials and the United States issued warnings of more al Qaeda-linked violence in the Gulf state.
Witnesses and security sources said police commandos had cordoned off a block in the capital's mainly residential Salmiya district and were firing at two buildings in the area.
"They (police) were shooting at these buildings with M16s and rocket-propelled grenades," one witness told Reuters. "The shooting is coming from various locations."
Several police cars cut off access to the block, and a helicopter hovered overhead. Ambulances were seen racing into the area, but there was no immediate word on casualties.
Two Kuwaiti security officers and two gunmen were killed in clashes between police and militants earlier this month, triggering raids across the oil-rich country.
On Saturday, the U.S. embassy in the pro-Western country said more militant attacks were possible and Kuwait's interior minister said his government agreed with the threat assessment.
The British and French embassy had also warned their citizens to be vigilant.
Kuwait is questioning several suspected militants and some officials believe sympathisers of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network were behind the attacks. Al Qaeda has staged several attacks in Saudi Arabia.
Two Americans were killed and several wounded in a string of attacks in 2002 and 2003 in U.S.-allied Kuwait, which was the launchpad of the war on Iraq and where about 30,000 U.S. troops are stationed.
The Kuwaiti government has no time for this scum. This peaceful Arab country snuffs the SOB's out before they have a chance to do any dirty work. Kuwait is a valuable ally in the war on terror.
I was driving to drop off dry cleaning in Salmiya this morning when I saw the road had been blocked off. This was heavily traveled Gulf Road and I have only seen it rarely blocked off for quick VIP drive-throughs. The area houses many US expats from various companies and I'm very glad the Kuwait security forces are dealing with these activities with a heavy hand.
Curious to see the headlines tomorrow in the local papers. I'm sure there will be more pictures of that situation than Iraqi women voting today. FYI, Kuwaiti women still do not vote here.
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