"The soldier tried to take a short cut ... Gunfire at the site was unintentional, but due to the situation in the region, precautions must be taken in dealing with any suspicious situation," Kuwaiti army spokesman Colonel Yussif al-Mulla told the official KUNA news agency.

A US military source said that two cars had driven at speed towards Camp Thunder, near the Iraqi border, in the early hours.

"Two vehicles were racing towards the camp. One got caught up in the barbed wire perimeter. The other sped away," the source told AFP.

"There is some indication that the forces did fire at one or both of the vehicles."

The source did not know if anyone had been detained or hurt in the incident.

US forces in the region have been on a heightened state of alert following a suicide car bombing near Najaf in Iraq on Saturday that killed four soldiers.

Seven women and children were killed Monday when US soldiers opened fire on a civilian vehicle at a military checkpoint at Najaf.

On Sunday, US soldiers shot an Egyptian electrician who rammed his truck into soldiers at another US military camp in northern Kuwait, injuring 15 people. The driver was left in critical condition.

Tens of thousands of US troops are based in the deserts of northern Kuwait which has been the launchpad of the US-led campaign to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

SPACE.WIRE