Source: Terror cell leader held in Kuwait
By CNN's Caroline Faraj and Kianne Sadeq
(CNN) -- Kuwaiti security forces Monday arrested the "leader of a terrorist cell" and killed four Islamic militants in a firefight south of Kuwait City, a top Kuwaiti security source told CNN.
One Kuwaiti national guard was also killed and five security men were wounded -- one of them critically.
According to the source, Amer Khulaif al-Enezi, the cell leader was captured along with five other militants, following a fierce gunbattle in the suburb of Mubarak al-Kabeer.
His brother, Nasser al-Enezi, was taken into custody Sunday after a similar battle with security forces.
The Kuwait News Agency trumpeted the announcement, quoting another security source, who said the terror cell had been "completely crushed."
The firefight began after Kuwaiti forces responded to a tip that said Islamic militants were hiding in a villa south of Kuwait City.
Residents reported hearing gunfire and loud explosions -- starting around 7 a.m. (11 p.m. ET Sunday) -- and had been told to stay in their homes.
It was the second straight day Kuwaiti security forces had battled militants.
Sunday's confrontation in eastern Kuwait City left a security force member, a militant and a Bahraini national dead, a Kuwaiti Interior Ministry official told CNN.
Four security forces were wounded in the firefight, along with one militant. A third militant was arrested.
Sunday's battle stems from two incidents earlier this month in which police and militants exchanged gunfire -- one in Um al-Hayman and another in Hawally, authorities said. The militants are believed to al Qaeda sympathizers.
Kuwait has been a U.S. ally since an American-led coalition liberated it from occupying Iraqi forces in 1991. U.S. troops used Kuwait as a staging area to launch the Iraq war in 2003.
