U.S. military police and a Kuwaiti investigator look at blood stains on the road.

KUWAIT CITY, January 21 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – In the sixth incident targeting Americans in Kuwait since October, an unknown gunman shot dead one American and critically wounded a second Tuesday, January 21,  between the main American army camp and a McDonald's restaurant in the emirate, the U.S. embassy and sources said.

"One American is dead and one was wounded," a U.S. embassy spokesman told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"They were shot and killed at approximately 9:14 am (0614 GMT) near the Doha spur. Both were transported to hospital."

The man who survived the attack was "in critical condition, he sustained multiple gunshot wounds," the spokesman said.

A Kuwaiti security source told AFP that a man appeared from behind bushes at the side of the road and fired 24 bullets at the vehicle.

The embassy said it could not yet confirm if the victims were U.S. defence department employees or worked for a contracting company.

An AFP photographer at the scene saw a light brown four-wheel drive on the side of the road.

All four windows had been shot out and there were several bullet holes in the front of the vehicle.

In Cairo, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal described the shooting as "tragic".

"This is something tragic, especially because of the relations between Kuwait and the United States," the kingdom's minister said following talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

As the United States sends more troops to the gulf, the anti-American sentiments build up there

It shows that there are crazy people doing such acts. We send our condolences to the American people, and we hope it won't affect the relations between our two countries," he added.

A spate of shootings have taken place in Kuwait since last October, all previously involving U.S. troops.

Although Kuwait is expected to be a launching pad for the U.S. forces in a possible invasion of neighbouring Iraq, the anti-American sentiments in the streets of this small Arab Gulf state still looms higher as more troops are arriving in the country.

The most serious claimed the life of a Marine during war games on a Kuwaiti island last October when two Kuwaiti gunmen opened fire.

The interior minister has said one of two men -- both also killed in the attack-- had sworn allegiance to terror chief Osama bin Laden.

In November a Kuwaiti police officer shot and seriously wounded two U.S. soldiers after stopping them on a highway south of the capital.

More than 16,000 U.S. troops are currently based in the emirate as the United States threatens to launch a massive military campaign against Iraq.

The troops are based between Camp Doha, 30 kilometres (19 miles) north of Kuwait City, and various desert camps in the north of the emirate.