Kuwaitis Foil Attack on U.S. Logistical Hub

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

Aug. 11, 2009 - U.S. military officials are crediting Kuwaiti security services with foiling a planned terrorist bombing aimed at a major U.S. logistical hub and staging operation in Kuwait and several other Kuwaiti sites. Kuwaiti authorities reportedly arrested six al-Qaida operatives accused of conspiring to carry out the attack on Camp Arifjan next week, during the opening days of Ramadan.

Two suspects confessed to planning to use a truck laden with explosive chemicals and fertilizer to attack the base, according to Kuwait's Al-Rai Al-Aam newspaper, which quoted a Kuwaiti interior ministry statement. The defendants reportedly rehearsed the plot before Kuwait's state security services intervened.

Camp Arifjan, located outside Kuwait City near Kuwait's border with Saudi Arabia, is used as a logistical base and transit point for U.S. troops deploying to and from Iraq.

Most troops there are assigned to a forward-deployed component of 3rd U.S. Army, headquartered at Fort McPherson, Ga. The command supports U.S. Central Command missions in the mideast region, including antiterrorism operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Third Army takes security very seriously," Army Col. Jerry O'Hara, 3rd Army and U.S. Army Central's public affairs officer, said of the foiled attack. "We are always in close coordination with Kuwait officials concerning security."