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American jet kills friendly troops
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A US Navy F/A-18 warplane dropped a 500-pound bomb on a group of military observers and killed five US soldiers and a New Zealander during an exercise on Monday in the Kuwaiti desert near Iraq's border, officials said.
The United States Embassy in Kuwait said in a statement yesterday that the warplane ``dropped an explosive ordnance on or near an observation post at the Udairi Range'' just south of the border with Iraq.
It said five US military personnel and a New Zealander were killed and five Americans were wounded in Monday night's accident, including two who had now been released from hospital.
The embassy said none of the US wounded was critical. A US investigation board would arrive in the Gulf Arab state later this week.
Earlier, Western defence sources in Kuwait had said 12 people, including two Kuwaiti soldiers, were injured. The embassy said some wounded were treated at the scene and released.
The New Zealand Government said it wanted an urgent explanation on how the accident happened.
The bomb slammed into the ground near the group in darkness at about 8pm. The range is a regular training site for 1991 Gulf War coalition forces based in Kuwait since driving Iraqi forces out of the oil-rich state in February 1991 after a seven-month occupation.
The embassy statement sent to Reuters said: ``The F/A-18 aircraft was participating in a routine close air support training exercise involving joint Coalition forces. This exercise involved both day and night training.''
It added: ``The exercises involve friendly ground and airborne forces pointing out targets to friendly fighter aircraft orbiting overhead. The fighter aircraft then deliver weapons on the targets.''
In Wellington, the New Zealand Defence Force said in a statement that Acting Major John McNutt, 27, was killed by the bomb during a live-firing exercise at the range.
McNutt had been a member of the elite First NZ Special Air Services Group for around 18 months, spokesman Major Hugh McAslan said.
Those killed and injured were on the ground observing training when they were hit by the blast in the dark, US defence officials said.
``We lost some servicemen today in a training accident in Kuwait,'' President George W Bush said in a speech during an appearance in Panama City, Florida. He asked the crowd for a moment of silence for the casualties.
(SD-Agencies)
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