Explosion Ignites Blaze at American Embassy in Kuwait
KUWAIT — A gas cylinder accidentally exploded in the U.S. Embassy compound today as construction workers were loading acetylene on a truck, an embassy official said.
The official said the explosion set two other cylinders on fire. Firefighters put out the blaze. The extent of damage was not immediately known.
“It was an accidental explosion related to construction activity going on at the embassy,” the spokesman said. “It was not an act of terrorism.”
The seafront embassy was bombed by pro-Iranian Shia Muslim militants in 1983 along with the French Embassy and other buildings. Five people were killed and 86 wounded.
Seventeen Shias were convicted of the bombings and six of them were sentenced to death. Islamic Jihad, a Shia group loyal to Iran, has demanded the 17 be freed in exchange for releasing two American hostages. Kuwait has refused.
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