KUWAIT CITY, 28 July 2004 — The United States has told its citizens in Kuwait to boost security precautions following the arrests of 11 people in connection with a purported campaign to recruit volunteers to fight US forces in Iraq, the State Department said yesterday.

The department, through the US Embassy here, did not cite any specific threat to Americans in the country, but reminded them to be alert, vary routes and times of travel and avoid areas where Westerners gather.

“With the detention of several individuals in Kuwait for suspected activities against the US military in Kuwait and Iraq, the embassy would like to remind all US citizens to be aware of their security posture at all times,” it said in a notice to Americans.

“American citizens should be alert to their surroundings, vary their times and routes when traveling, and avoid areas where Westerners congregate,” the embassy said.

The notice was issued late Monday, a day after Kuwait announced it had detained 11 people for questioning in relation to the alleged campaign to enlist fighters for a war in Iraq.

Authorities are trying to track down a small number of people who have been cited in the investigation as involved in the recruitment drive, Interior Minister Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah told the KUNA state news agency.

On Saturday, the Interior Ministry named two Kuwaitis it said were wanted on security-related charges, urging citizens and foreign residents to report any information that would lead to their arrest.

The ministry did not give details of the charges against the pair, but that announcement came just two days after it said four Kuwaitis had been extradited by Syria after being arrested for illegally crossing or trying to cross into Iraq.

The ministry said the four had confessed to the charges and informed on other people, including a number who were under 18, some of whom were detained and found in possession of weapons as well as “maps and plans for operations.”

Sheikh Nawaf said some of the suspects were teenagers who had apparently been “brainwashed” with extremist ideas.