KUWAIT, 4 January 2005 — Kuwaiti security forces have detained up to eight Kuwaiti soldiers suspected of plotting to attack US forces in the Gulf Arab state, a security source said yesterday.
The soldiers, some of whom are high-ranking officers, and several non-Kuwaiti citizens were detained a week ago and are being questioned over an alleged plan to attack US soldiers in Kuwait, the launchpad for the 2003 war on Iraq. Kuwait’s official news agency KUNA quoted a military official as saying that Kuwaiti “Army Intelligence’s security apparatus is interrogating some members of the military after what surfaced on a plot against friendly troops.”
Director of Moral Guidance and Public Relations, Army Chief of Staff, Air Commodore Yousef Abdelrazzak Al-Mulla told KUNA that some men had been released. Anyone with proven links to the alleged plot would be referred to the martial court, he added.
Al-Mulla declined to say how many soldiers had been detained. US officials were not immediately available for comment.
The United States has warned Americans in Kuwait that militants are preparing to launch attacks in the Gulf Arab state and has urged its citizens to be vigilant. Following a December attack on a US Consulate in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait boosted security around oil and other key installations.
