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Explanation Sought for US Bomb Killing NZ Officer in Kuwait
The New Zealand Government is seeking an urgent explanation for a US F-18 Hornet bomber Killing a New Zealand Army officer on a bombing range in the Kuwait desert Tuesday.
It is reported that New Zealand Army officer acting Major John McNutt and five others were killed by a bomb dropped by the US bomber Tuesday's morning (New Zealand time).
Major McNutt, who had been in the Special Air Services for 18 months, was observing a live-firing training exercise at Udara range in Northwest Kuwait when the bomb hit. He was killed instantly.
Major McNutt was a staff officer at the coalition joint task-force headquarters in Kuwait. The mission involves the US, Britain, Australia and New Zealand.
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said here Tuesday that the accident was "a shocking and tragic embarrassment" for the United States.
"I imagine the US Government itself will be wanting an explanation as to how unarmed observers can be killed in a training exercise."
New Zealand Defense Minister Mark Burton said it was an accident which should never have happened.
"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.
"This was a live bomb basically dropped on observers. It shouldn't happen and we all need to know precisely what went wrong," Burton said.
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