KUWAIT CITY // Kuwaiti police dogs sniffed out plastic explosives hidden in a pickup truck that was stopped while entering an industrial seaport in the country, security officials said yesterday.
They said the driver of the truck, which belonged to the Electricity and Water Ministry, was taken into custody. They described him as Asian but gave no further details.
"The suspected explosive material was found in a white pickup's exhaust, entering Shuaiba port on Saturday," one official said on condition of anonymity. "The substance is C4 and is the size of two fingers." C4 is a high-velocity military explosive.
Another security official said there was no immediate indication the explosive was to be used in a militant attack but investigations were still in progress.
Authorities carried out a security sweep at Shuaiba port, home to one of the country's three crude oil refineries, after the truck was stopped, one of the officials said. The port is in the south of Kuwait City.
In 2009, Kuwait foiled an al Qa'eda-linked plan to bomb a US army camp and other facilities in the country, including the state security building.
Kuwait is a logistics base for the US to support its troops in Iraq.
