US: Attack From Within

Updated:02:21, Monday March 24, 2003

An American soldier has died in a grenade attack carried out by another US serviceman at a military camp in Kuwait.

Fifteen troops were also injured when the soldier, named as Sergeant Asan Akbar, lobbed three grenades into tents housing commanding officers from the 101st Airborne Division at Camp Pennsylvania.

Injured suspect under guard

Sky correspondent Stuart Ramsay, who is in the camp, said the first grenade was rolled into a tent where commanding officer Colonel Ben Hodges was based, but did not go off.

But two other grenades thrown into tents where the unit's majors and captains sleep did explode, injuring Col Hodges as he ran out of the first tent.

Ramsay watched as the Akbar, an engineer from the 327th infantry assigned to the 101st Airborne Division, was held.

"It appears he was hiding in a bunker near where the attacks happened," Ramsay said. 

"As the man who carried out the attack moved away there was some shooting. He was shot in the leg. He was held on the ground less than 100 yards from where the attack happened."

The grenades were rolled into three tents

Ramsay said the soldier had been guarding a grenades depot at the time.

He said fears about Akbar's behaviour had been raised by colleagues.

"In recent days they were concerned about his behaviour and were not going to send him up to the front when the soldiers were going to be deployed.

British tanks roll into southern Iraq

It is not clear whether the soldier, who Ramsay said would have been in the Gulf for some weeks, had planned the attack before being deployed.

"To be honest we just do not know," Ramsay said.

"Talking to other soldiers, it could be that he was disgruntled. They said he had been acting 'weird' for days."

Eleven soldiers who were seriously hurt were flown out of the camp by helicopter.

It was initially thought two Kuwaiti nationals were involved but it quickly became clear it was just one American soldier.

Ramsay said a criminal investigation is now being carried out.

Iraqi soldiers launched a Scud missile attack during the incident, but it is not known whether they are linked. The Scud was shot down by a Patriot missile.