Kuwait City: A suicide bomber struck a Shia 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 Islamic State group, which marks the first anniversary of its “caliphate” straddling Iraq and Syria on Monday, claimed Friday’s assault.
It was the first bombing of a Shia 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 Shia teachings among Sunni Muslims.
Kuwait’s Interior Ministry said in a statement cited by the official KUNA news agency that hundreds were wounded in the mosque explosion. “Twenty-five people have been martyred and 202 other wounded as a result of the blast at Al-Imam Al-Sadeq Mosque.”Pictures circulating on social media showed several bloodied bodies and debris at the mosque in the capital Kuwait City. A security official said “it is a suicide bombing.”
Witnesses gave a similar account, saying a suicide bomber entered the mosque during the weekly noon prayers.