The shooting was one of a series of attacks on Americans

A Kuwaiti man has been sentenced to death by a court in Kuwait for killing an American civilian in the run-up to the Iraq war.

Sami al-Mutairi, 25, was found guilty of carrying out the roadside attack in January on two Americans working under contract for the US military.

Michael Rene Pouliot, 46, was killed and David Caraway, 37, seriously wounded in the ambush near the main US military base in Kuwait, Camp Doha.

Mutairi denies the charges and says he will appeal. Three others found guilty of being his accomplices were given jail sentences.

Mr Pouliot and Mr Caraway were targeted as they pulled up in their car at traffic lights on Highway 85 near the Camp Doha base.

Their vehicle was sprayed with rounds fired from a Kalashnikov rifle.

The shooting was one of a series attacks against Americans in the emirate, and sparked alarm as the first to target civilians.

'Premeditated'

Shortly afterwards, Mutairi left for Saudi Arabia where he was arrested two days later by Saudi border guards and extradited to Kuwait.

After Mutairi was questioned, Kuwait's Interior Ministry said he had confessed on videotape to the murder and admitted "embracing the ideas of al-Qaeda".

The prosecution claimed Mutairi - a psychology researcher at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs - had planned the crime for two months, staking out the area and singling out his targets.

Michael Pouliot was on contract to the US military

They said that, following the attack, he went to a mosque to pray before stashing the weapon and ammunition and fleeing to Saudi Arabia.

Prosecutor Hussein al-Huraiti urged the court to hand down the maximum penalty.

"We call on you, in the name of society, to return safety and security to this society by hitting hard against everyone who considers threatening it," he said.

In his defence, Mutairi maintained he was forced to read out a statement prepared by police officers in front of a video camera.

'Under duress'

He also claimed he was travelling to Saudi Arabia on a pilgrimage to Mecca.

After the verdict, Mutairi's lawyer Osama al-Munawer said they would appeal.

"I maintain that he is innocent... no proof has been shown (of guilt) during the trial and the problem was his confession to the prosecutor, but it had been obtained under duress," he said.

A death sentence in Kuwait - which usually means hanging - can be appealed in court twice before the emir has to endorse it or show mercy.

Badi Cruz al-Ajmi and Khalifa Hilal al-Dihani were jailed for five years and three years respectively for supplying Mutairi with weapons and helping him escape.

They denied the charges and claimed they did not know Mutairi before the trial opened in February.