Kuwait City

Suspect in shootings of Americans confesses

A Kuwaiti suspect who reportedly shared the beliefs of Osama bin Laden confessed Thursday to shooting two U.S. defense workers, the government said. Police searched for two more suspects.

The Kuwaiti suspect was arrested in Saudi Arabia and deported, a statement said. The Interior Ministry identified him as Sami al-Mutairi, a 25-year-old civil servant, and said the weapon had been recovered at his workplace.

Al-Mutairi became a suspect “in the first hours after the crime was committed,” the ministry statement said without elaboration. Saudi border guards arrested him early Wednesday.

In Tuesday’s attack, a gunman hiding behind a hedge ambushed a sport utility vehicle carrying the civilian contractors working for the U.S. military. The attack took place at a stoplight about 3 miles from the U.S. military’s Camp Doha, which is 10 miles west of Kuwait City.

Belgium

NATO unveils plans for new headquarters

After more than three decades of living in temporary accommodations, NATO announced plans Thursday to build a new, futuristic headquarters in Brussels.

The complex, chosen after a 14-month architectural competition, involves four wave-shaped, six-story blocks linked by a central hall. It was designed by the London-based consortium Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Inc. in association with Belgian company Assar.

The decision partially stems from NATO’s expansion plans. Seven new nations are due to join next year, raising the membership to 26 from the current 19 and increasing the number of staff.

The new building should be inaugurated by the end of the decade. Unofficial estimates gave the cost as at least $323 million.

Kenya

U.S. may train east African troops

American troops could soon start training soldiers from Yemen and a handful of eastern African countries in counterterrorism techniques, the commander of the U.S. forces in the region said Thursday.

Maj. Gen. John F. Sattler said he had discussed training programs during a series of meetings with regional leaders in the last six weeks.

Sattler’s trip to Kenya comes after a Nov. 28 suicide bombing at a hotel popular with Israelis that killed at least 16 people. Shortly before the bombing, assailants fired two ground-to-air missiles at a charter airliner loaded with Israeli tourists as it took off from Kenya but missed.

About 900 U.S. troops have set up base at Camp Lemonier in Djibouti as part of the task force, whose mission covers that country and Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen — all of which have been cited as security concerns by the United States.

Russia

Court rejects lawsuits in Moscow theater raid

A Moscow court on Thursday rejected three lawsuits by six plaintiffs against the city government for moral damages suffered by hostages in the terrorist seizure of a Moscow theater last year.

The court did not rule on the remaining 21 lawsuits because the plaintiffs had not appeared during the hearings.

Sixty-one victims of the Oct. 23-26 theater siege filed suit for nearly $60 million, an unprecedented damage request in Russia. The court began considering the first 24 suits on Dec. 3.

Lawyer Igor Trunov said the plaintiffs would probably appeal the decision to the Moscow City Court. He said he might ask the Supreme Court to take over the case because of its social significance.

City officials sharply criticized the lawsuit, saying the federal government — not Moscow — was responsible for the Chechen conflict and its consequences.