Washington — A U.S. Navy warplane mistakenly bombed soldiers during a training exercise Monday in Kuwait, killing five Americans and one New Zealander, Pentagon officials said.
The Navy F/A-18 Hornet was practicing "close air support" for ground troops at the Udairi bombing range, 45 miles northwest of Kuwait City, when it dropped explosive ordnance "on or near" an observation post, the U.S. Central Command said.
The New Zealand government pressed for answers in the death of its soldier, acting Maj. John McNutt, 27.
"It's a terrible tragedy and ... we are now looking for an urgent, detailed explanation as to how such a training exercise can go so terribly wrong," said Defense Minister Mark Burton.
"This was a live bomb basically dropped on observers. It shouldn't happen and we all need to know precisely what went wrong."
U.S. officials said they would not identify the dead and hurt Americans until their families were notified. One Pentagon official said an estimated 10 people were injured. A second official said no civilians were involved.
President Bush, traveling in Panama City, Fla., opened a speech on his budget proposals and military spending with a brief mention of the accident. "I'm reminded today of how dangerous service can be," Bush said. "We lost some servicemen today in Kuwait in a training accident." He led a moment of silence for the soldiers and their families.
The accident happened about 7 p.m. Monday in Kuwait, or 10 a.m. CST, about 28 miles from the Iraqi border, during a multinational training exercise in which ground forces direct strike aircraft to specific targets.
The Navy plane was flying from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. An official said the plane dropped what was believed to be a 500-pound gravity bomb. It was not clear whether the pilot erred or whether those on the ground directed the Hornet to the wrong area on the bombing range.
It was the second accident involving the U.S. Navy in a little more than a month. On Feb. 9, the submarine USS Greeneville struck a Japanese fisheries training vessel while surfacing off Hawaii, leaving nine dead, including four teen-agers.
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