Suicide bomb kills 25 at Kuwait mosque
Print Edition
A SUICIDE bomber struck a Shiite mosque in the Kuwaiti capital during Friday prayers, killing at least 25 people and wounding many in an unprecedented attack claimed by the Islamic State group.
The interior ministry said that 25 people “had been martyred” and 202 others wounded as a result of the blast at Al-Imam Al-Sadeq mosque.”
The wounded were admitted to five public hospitals and were visited by Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Sabah.
It was the first bombing of a Shiite mosque in Kuwait and the first terror attack in the Gulf state since January 2006.
The IS-affiliated group in Saudi Arabia, calling itself Najd Province, said militant Abu Suleiman al-Muwahhid bombed the mosque which it claimed was spreading Shiite teachings among Sunni Muslims.
IS, a radical Sunni Muslim group, considers Shiites to be heretics.
The Najd Province group has claimed similar bombings at Shiite mosques in Saudi Arabia in recent weeks.
Pictures circulating on social media showed several bloodied bodies and debris at the mosque.
Witnesses said the suicide bomber entered the mosque during the noon prayers.
The emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, immediately visited the site, and footage on state-run Kuwait Television showed him visibly moved by the scenes of carnage.
The channel broadcast footage of massive destruction caused by the blast, and people posted horrific pictures of the dead and wounded online.
Kuwait’s Cabinet went into emergency session as the interior ministry raised the alert level and mobilized all security forces.
A number of hospitals in the oil-rich emirate declared states of emergency to deal with the wounded, and the central blood bank appealed for donations.
Kuwaiti Shiites make up around a third of the country’s 1.3 million population.
The interior ministry said it had launched a full investigation into the incident.
Three weeks ago, it said it had raised the level of security around mosques following the bombings in Saudi Arabia.
Parliament speaker Marzouk al-Ghanem described yesterday’s attack as “black terror,” adding that the unity of Kuwaitis would foil any plot.
The two mainstream Sunni groups, the Islamic Constitutional Movement and the Islamic Salaf Alliance, also denounced the attack.
The ICM, political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, decried the bombing as a “low criminal attack targeting the mosque.”
“The Islamic Salaf Alliance strongly deplores this heinous crime which is carried out only by traitors,” the second group said.
Leading Sunni cleric, Sheikh Ajeel al-Nashmi, said the bombing was a “criminal act aimed at sowing seeds of discord.”
Independent MP Sultan al-Shemmari called on the government to “hit the terrorists with an iron fist”.
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