Kuwait petrol bomb man held

A spate of incidents includes the killing of a US Marine

A teenager has been arrested with petrol bombs in his car near buildings housing American military officers.

The 17-year-old allegedly told police he had received orders from Pakistan over the internet to carry out an attack in Fintas, south of Kuwait City.

Fintas Towers is the home of several US servicemen

Security has been stepped up in Kuwait since an attack last week which killed an American soldier and wounded another.

The authorities blamed that attack on Kuwaiti terrorists.

The youth had 10 bottles filled with petrol, each with a cloth fuse, in his car, when he was arrested near the Alia and Ghalia towers in Fintas, about 25 kms (15 miles) south of Kuwait City.

Several US military personnel from the nearby Ahmad al-Jaber airbase live in the building, according to the AFP news agency.

Suspicious car

There has been no comment from the US authorities.

The Kuwaiti Interior Ministry official said it was the youth who had called authorities reporting a suspicious car in front of the buildings.

When police arrived, they saw the youth, but not the suspicious vehicle, he said.

On questioning the teenager, whose name was not released, initially denied having a car of his own in the area, but the official said he ultimately directed them to the car, which contained the makeshift explosives.

The teenager, who appeared bewildered or confused, was arrested, he said.

The car belonged to the teen's father, according to the Kuwait News Agency.

The incident is the latest in a series involving US military personnel.

Ten days ago US Marines taking part in war games on an island off the Kuwaiti coast were fired on, leaving one dead and one wounded.

US ally

The two Kuwaiti gunmen were gunned down in the attack, and 15 Kuwaitis have since been arrested.

The Kuwaiti interior minister has said that there is no clear evidence linking the killers to Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaeda.

On Monday, US army soldiers came under fire in northern Kuwait, but there were no casualties.

The incidents are unusual in Kuwait, which is a close US ally and where many appreciate US military protection during and since the 1990-91 Gulf war that liberated Kuwait from Iraqi forces.

But the BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner says while most Kuwaitis recognise the presence of nearly 10,000 US troops on their soil prevents Iraq from invading the country, it is becoming increasingly clear that for a small minority of Kuwaiti extremists, their hatred of US policy overrides their fear of Iraq.