Militants killed a Kuwaiti security officer and wounded three other commandos on Sunday during a shootout in this pro-U.S. Gulf state which is facing an outbreak of al Qaeda-linked violence. Police said the men, all with the special forces, were shot during a raid on suspected militant hideouts in the capital's mainly residential Salmiya district. Witnesses said a civilian was also killed in the firefight. The raid, which targeted two buildings in Salmiya, came a day after the government of this oil-rich state and the U.S. embassy warned more militant attacks were possible. "We are searching for an armed group that is wanted by state security," a security official told Reuters.Witnesses said police had cordoned off a block in Salmiya and were firing machineguns and rocket-propelled grenades at the gunmen. A helicopter also hovered overhead. A Syrian woman who works in one of the targeted buildings told Reuters the gunmen had knocked on her door before fleeing from their police pursuit. "I locked the door and didn't let them in. I then smelled gunpowder and heard blasts. Bullets have hit the windows in my office," she said, speaking by cellphone from the building.