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Camera may have recorded Kuwait killing

Second victim recovering after surgery

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Michael Rene Pouliot co-founded Tapestry Solutions, which contracts with the U.S. military.

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CNN's Martin Savidge reports on the ambush shooting that left one U.S. contractor dead and another wounded in Kuwait City (January 21)
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KUWAIT CITY (CNN) -- A camera at an intersection in Kuwait City may have recorded an ambush Tuesday in which one American civilian was shot dead and another was wounded when 24 bullets were pumped into their SUV.

Authorities were reviewing the images, used for traffic monitoring, to see what it shows, a Kuwaiti official said. The U.S. ambassador to Kuwait, Richard Jones, called the incident "a terrorist attack."

Michael Rene Pouliot, 46, of San Diego, California, died at the scene, according to the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait. David Caraway, who was driving the vehicle, suffered six gunshot wounds but is expected to survive, authorities said.

Both men were contract workers for the U.S. military, employed by Tapestry Solutions, a San Diego, California-based company whose Web site says it has "specialized in the area of military modeling and simulation training tools."

The men were ambushed on the road leading from Camp Doha, the main U.S. Army base in Kuwait.

24 bullets hit vehicle

Kuwaiti authorities and U.S. officials are searching for the attacker or attackers, who police said likely hid in a tree-lined area beside the road and opened fire when the Americans' vehicle pulled up to the intersection.

At least 24 bullets from an AK-47 hit the vehicle, police said. The attack occurred about 9:20 a.m. (1:20 a.m. EST).

Caraway was recovering after surgery, doctors at al-Razi Orthopedic Hospital said.

The doctors said he was shot once in the arm, three times in the chest and twice in the leg. Doctors performed several procedures, including an operation on his upper right arm to repair a fractured humerus.

Pouliot co-founded Tapestry Solutions in 1993 and was the company's executive vice president. Caraway is a senior software engineer for the company.

"Our hearts and deepest sympathies go out to the families affected by this tragedy," said Mark Young, vice president of Tapestry Solutions. "We are stunned by this senseless act of violence, which has taken a great man and friend of our family."

U.S. and Kuwaiti officials denounced the attack.

"We condemn this terrorist incident, which has tragically cost the life of an innocent American citizen," Jones said.

Mishery Al-Anjary, deputy speaker of the Kuwaiti Parliament, called the attack "an awful terrorist act."

"It's a terrible thing. Acts like this are difficult to prevent in any country -- even in Kuwaiti society," he said. "We are determined to capture the perpetrators. We are hoping that this is the last case of this kind of thing to happen in our country and to our guests."

Jones said the United States has "full confidence" that the Kuwaitis will pursue the matter "vigorously and professionally."

The U.S. Embassy said the attack took place at a three-way intersection with a traffic light 3 miles from Camp Doha.

The Interior Ministry said the two Americans were driving from the direction of Camp Doha but could not say whether the vehicle came from the camp.

Troops target of previous attacks

Fadia Nasser, owner of a restaurant that Pouliot frequented, called him a "gentleman," saying he was a "very nice guy, sensitive, caring ... He was very proud because his company was doing very good."

In November, two U.S. soldiers traveling from Camp Doha to the town of Oraifijan in a civilian vehicle were pulled off the road and shot at close range. Both soldiers, who were wearing civilian clothes, survived. A Kuwaiti police sergeant was arrested in connection with the attack after being apprehended in Saudi Arabia. (Full story)

A month earlier, two Kuwaiti gunmen suspected of having ties to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network attacked U.S. troops on Kuwait's Failaka Island, killing one Marine and injuring another. The assailants were killed in return fire.

-- CNN correspondents Martin Savidge and Ryan Chilcote contributed to this report.


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