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Shots fired near soldiers in Kuwait©Associated PressNovember 3, 2002 KUWAIT CITY -- Kuwaiti police searched Saturday for four people who fired guns near U.S. troops in the latest shooting involving American forces. But a U.S. diplomat played down the incident, saying the shots may have come from sport shooters. Nobody was injured in the Friday incident, which occurred as Americans trained in the desert south of Kuwait City, officials said. The U.S. military said the shots came from two white pickup trucks, each carrying two people. It was unclear what kind of weapons were used. Early reports indicated four people were arrested, but U.S. authorities withdrew that account without explanation. Efforts to contact Kuwaiti police spokesmen were unsuccessful. However, the Associated Press reported an American diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the shooting as a "recreational incident" involving young Kuwaitis firing weapons in the desert near Oraifijan, 35 miles south of Kuwait City. Concern over the safety of U.S. troops here rose following the fatal shooting of a U.S. Marine and the wounding of another during an attack by Islamic extremists Oct. 8 on Failaka island. The two assailants were killed by Marines. Six says later, shots were fired near U.S. troops in the northwest desert. Kuwaiti officials said privately that they probably came from Bedouin hunters who were not trying to harm Americans. On Saturday, the Kuwaiti government sealed off nearly a quarter of the country -- including the area near the Iraqi border -- saying the move was to safeguard civilians during military exercises.
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