Terror alert in Kuwait: Americans warned of looming Al Qaida strike
WASHINGTON — Americans in Kuwait are bracing for an Al Qaida
strike.
The State Department has issued a report that identified an Al Qaida
threat in Kuwait, where 15,000 U.S. troops are stationed. The department said the
U.S. embassy and the Kuwaiti government have shared information on the
threat.
"The U.S. embassy and the GoK [government of Kuwait] have received
threat information indicating official and private Americans may be targeted
for terrorist attacks," the report, titled "Kuwait 2008 Crime & Safety
Report," said. "The primary terrorist threat to U.S. personnel in Kuwait
comes from individuals with links to Al Qaida and regional jihadist
networks."
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The report said Al Qaida could select Western hotels and restaurants in
the Gulf Cooperation Council state. Many of the facilities have been
improving security amid the Al Qaida threat.
"American citizens are advised to avoid apartment complexes where
Americans or other Westerners are generally known to congregate in large
numbers," the report, released on March 3, said. "We recommend that
Americans maintain a low profile and vary routes and times for required
travel to avoid predictable schedules."
Kuwait has bolstered security amid the Al Qaida threat. The Interior
Ministry has deployed large numbers of uniformed and plainclothes officers
on the streets of major cities.
The high police presence has generated another danger to Westerners in
Kuwait. The report said non-Kuwaitis, who comprise two-thirds of the
sheikdom's residents, have posed as police officers to isolate, assault and
rob victims.
"Of particular concern are an alarming number of crimes involving
individuals impersonating police officers and then assaulting victims, who
are primarily third-country nationals [TCNs] and more susceptible to
intimidation," the report said. "The evolving modus operandi involves a male
in plain clothes and an unmarked vehicle stopping a TCN, whether on foot or
in a vehicle,
asking for his ID, then demanding the person get into the impostor's vehicle
without any explanation of his offense or their destination. The TCN is then
driven to a deserted area and assaulted."