A U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed during a night training mission, killing all four crew members

KUWAIT CITY, February 25 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Four U.S. soldiers were killed early Tuesday, February 25, when their helicopter crashed during night training in the Kuwaiti desert, amid a U.S.-led military buildup for a possible war against neighboring Iraq, the U.S. army said.

The UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter, one of two from the army's V Corps conducting night training, crashed at approximately 1:00 am (10:00 GMT Monday) near Camp New Jersey, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) northwest of Kuwait City, the army said in a statement reported by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The four crew, whose names were being withheld pending notification of next of kin, were the only personnel on board the aircraft.

The cause of the crash is currently under investigation, the army said.

Kuwait said Monday, February 24, it has arrested three of its nationals plotting a "terrorist" attack against U.S. troops in the emirate, and seized weapons and ammunition in their possession.

"Security services have arrested three Kuwaitis planning to carry out a terrorist attack on U.S. forces currently in the country," the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

"A number of weapons and ammunition to carry out this operation were also seized," it said.

In what observers believe a sign of growing public resentment of plans to attack Iraq and Kuwait serving as a launch pad for such an aggression, the Gulf emirate has witnessed six shooting incidents, two fatal, involving Americans in the past five months.

In October, two Kuwaitis killed a marine and wounded another during war games on Failaka island, 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of Kuwait City.

One of the two assailants - both killed in the attack - had sworn allegiance to al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, according to the Interior Minister.

In January, a U.S. contractor was killed and another injured in a highway ambush near the largest U.S. army base in the emirate.=

The alleged Kuwaiti gunman was arrested after trying to flee to Saudi Arabia, and, according to the Interior Ministry, confessed to the attack and said he "embraced the ideas of al-Qaeda."

Kuwait is currently home to some 98,000 U.S. troops out of more than 200,000 massed around Iraq, based in scores of newly-built desert camps.

The emirate is poised to be the main front for a possible U.S.-led invasion of Iraq over its alleged weapons of mass destruction, although it has repeatedly said its bases could only be used if a fresh assault is mandated by the United Nations.