Saudis Arrest Kuwaiti in Attack on Americans

Saudi border guards on Wednesday arrested a Kuwaiti man who is suspected of killing one American and critically wounding another during an ambush in Kuwait, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

The news agency quoted an official from the Saudi Interior Ministry as saying that the Kuwaiti, who was not identified, was arrested early on Wednesday while “sneaking into Saudi Arabia from Kuwait.”

“The initial investigation revealed that he was the assailant who fired on the American citizens on Tuesday,” according to the news agency.

A Kuwaiti government spokesman said he would not comment on the report until today.

The two Americans, both civilian contractors working for the U.S. military, were ambushed Tuesday near Camp Doha, about 10 miles west of Kuwait City.

Police said a gunman hiding behind a hedge about 3 miles from the base opened fire with a Kalashnikov rifle on the Americans’ sport utility vehicle while it was at a stoplight.

Michael Pouliot, 46, of Poway, Calif., was killed.

David Caraway, 38, a co-worker at San Diego software company Tapestry Solutions, was in stable condition Wednesday at a Kuwait City hospital.

Thousands of U.S. troops are assembling in the oil-rich emirate for a possible war against Iraq.

Nobody has claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attack.