Here's a copy of what appeared in today's Arab Times:
Blood everywhere ... it was over in 5 minutes
KUWAIT CITY: There was blood everywhere and people were fleeing the scene
of the shoot-out in Maidan Hawally, say two men who were at the scene where
three people were killed including two policemen on Monday. While both of them
paint a similar picture of the shoot-out, both of them differ on the actual
sequence of events. "There were loud bangs. At first I thought children were
bursting crackers but when I saw a man holding a gun, I knew something was
wrong," said the first witness to the shooting. The witness who works at a shop
close to the scene and who refused to be identified said he saw two men entering
a shop and asking the address of a car rental shop and as the manager was
explaining them the direction of the shop, a policeman in mufti allegedly opened
fire.The source added that the two men then ducked behind a table and started
returning the fire, saying the gun battle continued for some time and that the
policeman was badly hurt. "The two assailants were also injured and one of them
was lying on the floor in a pool of blood." He said the policeman received three
bullets - two in the chest and one in the abdomen and later succumbed to his
injuries. According to the witness all the policemen were in civilian clothes.He
showed these reporters the spot where the policeman breathed his last, adding he
also saw two more people lying dead in a pool of blood. Bullet marks were also
seen on the ceiling adjacent to the shop with two bullets piercing the glass
door of the car rental shop. A source showed the Arab Times four bullet marks in
the shop where the gun battle took place, two of the bullets pierced the leg of
a computer table while one hit a floor tile. Meanwhile, another eye witness of
the shoot-out Basha, an Indian driver at a neighboring car rental company, said,
"I was making tea in my office, and as I was feeling cold, I went to my car,
parked just outside, to switch on the heater and warm myself."Basha's narration
continued: "That's when a group of men pulled along in a black car and three of
them got out. One of them went to my office, and the other two went to that
office," he said pointing at a glass door in the extreme right of the same
building. The men were asking directions to Caza Rental, which is situated in
the same corridor. "Just then another car pulled up and a man from the car
walked past my car brazenly holding what looked like an automatic rifle. But
since he was wielding it so openly, I thought it must be a toy gun," he said.
But the drama that followed soon after shocked Basha. A flurry of rat-tats made
him look up and he saw the man, who was asking for directions, lying in a pool
of blood right in front of his office. Basha pointed at a hole in the middle of
cobweb-like cracks on the glass door of his office saying that was one of the
many bullets sprayed in the encounter. "Meanwhile," he added, "the other two men
at the far end of the corridor became alert. One of them ran inside the office,
while the other flicked out a gun from his socks and attempted to return fire.
But he was also shot at and subdued." The shooter then hounded the third man,
who was inside the other office, and shot him as well, Basha said. "The whole
incident was over in less than five minutes, and the shooter walked back to his
car and sped away. There was total mayhem. I lay ducked in my car for a while,
not knowing what was happening." If he had not gone to his car, leaving the
water in the kettle to boil, then he too could have been killed, he added
looking calm and composed, narrating the incident alongside washing his car. A
person from his office informed the police, who arrived at the scene within a
few minutes. People crowded shocked by the dramatic turn of events. "The first
man who was shot, I think died on the spot. The other man who was lying at the
end of the corridor seemed to be alive and was struggling for life. I don't know
about the third man." "A team of police made quick enquiries and went to chase
down the getaway car. Soon after that I retired, feeling nauseated and shocked
by the blood that ran down the corridor."
The same paper also has a follow-on story:
Kuwait collars 10
KUWAIT CITY: Security forces Tuesday arrested at least 10 Islamic
extremists, including three persons from one house in Jaber Al-Ali area, when
they conducted raids at several locations all over Kuwait, say sources. Kuwait
securitymen took this action after two policemen and a wanted suspect, who they
were chasing, were killed Monday in a shoot-out in Maidan Hawally. A reliable
security source said, "some key persons, who are suspected to be involved in the
killing of two police officers in Monday's shoot-out, may be among the
arrested."
He said the arrested suspects are being interrogated, adding "security
forces will continue with the raids until all the suspects involved in the
killing of the two policemen are arrested to know their future plans." "The
Interior Ministry is cracking down on suspected militants across the country," a
source told Reuters. He, however, had a lower figure of arrests. "State security
is now holding a minimum of six Kuwaitis, who will be questioned on the
whereabouts of the gunmen who carried out the crime," the source said....
At least 10, minimum of 6, whatever... maybe they should get the Ministry of (dis)Information involved. The Ministry of Interior is doing themselves and the country no favours by not coming clean on what's going on
Putting it into perspective though, safety in Kuwait isn't really a worry. You're still more likely to get bowled crossing a road (or be caught up in a criminal shoot-out in the USA) than being involved in a shoot-out with terrorists in Kuwait.
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