Marines in fatal assault had no ammo

One American killed, another wounded in shooting

Members of the 11th U.S. Marine expeditionary unit from Camp Pendleton prepare for a landing in Shuwaikh, Kuwait, during maneuvers.

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KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait (CNN) -- When U.S. Marines were fired on by two Kuwaiti nationals during a training exercise Tuesday, they had no way of defending themselves, U.S. officials said.

The Marines were practicing urban warfare tactics on Failaka Island in the Persian Gulf and were carrying no ammunition for their weapons, U.S. officials said.

One Marine was killed and another was wounded. U.S. military police chased down the two assailants, who were dressed in civilian clothes and driving a pickup truck, and shot them dead, according to the officials.

The Kuwait government called the incident a terrorist attack.

Three AK-47 assault rifles were found in the civilian vehicle, but it was unclear whether the weapons were those used in the attack, U.S. officials said.

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior identified the assailants as Jassem Al Hajiri, 28, and Anas Al-Kandari, 21. Kuwait officials said they had arrested 27 people in and around Kuwait City who had connections to the assailants, either as relatives or friends.

The shootout happened about 11:15 a.m. (4:15 a.m. ET) Tuesday when 150 Marines of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit were conducting urban assault training as part of an exercise called Eager Mace, U.S. officials said.

U.S. and Kuwaiti officials were investigating the incident. U.S. officials said the Marines were participating in a non-live fire exercise -- meaning they didn't have ammunition.

A helicopter took the injured Marines to a U.S. military hospital in Kuwait City where one was pronounced dead. The other has injuries not considered life threatening and is expected to recover, officials said.

U.S. authorities did not release the Marines' names.

About 1,000 Marines were involved in Eager Mace. All were withdrawn to the Kuwaiti mainland for security reasons after the attack, officials said.

It is unclear if the training exercise would continue.

Some 6,000 people lived on Failaka before Iraq invaded and mined the island in 1990.

The U.S. military now uses Failaka Island for training, U.S. officials said, and it is closed to the public. Civilians do work on the island and have permission to be there. It is not clear whether the two assailants were among them.

The civilians on the island are of various nationalities, including Kuwaitis, Pakistanis, Malaysians, Indians and others.

U.S. officials said they had no warnings of any possible terrorist activity on the island.

Marines with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit from Camp Pendleton, California, landed in Kuwait last month to take part in a monthlong joint exercise with Kuwaiti troops. The Marines arrived on the USS Denver and USS Mount Vernon.

CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr and Producer Hugh Williams contributed to this report.

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