24 killed in ISIS attack on Kuwait mosque

[BLACKEAGLE]

Security forces, officials and civilians gather after a deadly blast claimed by the Islamic State group that struck worshippers attending Friday prayers at a Shiite mosque in Kuwait City, Friday, June 26, 2015. (AP)

By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News
Friday, 26 June 2015
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has claimed on Friday the deadly bombing on a Kuwaiti mosque, which left at least 25 people killed and 202 wounded, according to the interior mosque.

An ISIS statement posted on social media identified the bomber as Abu Suleiman al-Muwahed and said the target was a “temple of the rejectionists” - a term used by the Islamist militant group to refer to Shiite Muslims - and said dozens were killed or wounded.

A photo taken from social media shows the aftermath of the deadly blast (Photo courtesy of Twitter)

This is not the first time ISIS has attacked a Shiite mosque in the Gulf region. ISIS has claimed responsibility for bombings at two different Shiite mosques in Saudi Arabia in recent weeks.

However, Friday’s attack is the first such bombing targeting Kuwaiti Shiites, who make up around one-third of the country’s native population of 1.3 million people.

Security forces, officials and civilians gather after the deadly blast (Photo courtesy of Twitter)

Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabah said on Friday that a suicide bombing at a Shiite Muslim mosque in the capital was an attempt to threaten the country’s national unity.

“This incident targets our internal front, our national unity,” Sheikh Jaber told Reuters after visiting the wounded at the Emiri hospital. “But this is too difficult for them and we are much stronger than that.”

This image provided by Kuwaitna news shows a man in a blood-soaked dishdasha following of a deadly blast at a Shiite mosque in Kuwait City, Friday, June 26, 2015. (AP)

A witness said the bombing happened when the mosque was packed with some 2,000 worshippers during Friday prayers.

"It is a suicide bombing," a security official told AFP.

Another man in a blood-soaked dishdasha makes a phone call after the blast (Photo courtesy of Twitter)

Witnesses gave a similar account, saying a suicide bomber entered the mosque during the weekly noon prayers.

The bomb struck the Imam Sadiq Mosque in a busy area of Kuwait City’s al-Sawabir district. Witness Abdullah al-Saffar was at the mosque at the time. He says the explosions took place on the mosque grounds following Friday prayers, and that there were casualties.


Friday midday prayers are typically the most crowded of the week, and attendance increases during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, which started last week.

Soon after the blast, Kuwait’s Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber Al-Sabah visited the scene.

Last Update: Friday, 26 June 2015 KSA 17:18 - GMT 14:18

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/06/26/Explosion-hits-mosque-in-Kuwait-during-Friday-prayers-.html

 

[Falcon29]

What are your thoughts on this guys? Unusual for a place like Kuwaiit. How are Kuwaitties responding to it?

 

[Lieutenant]

What are your thoughts on this guys? Unusual for a place like Kuwaiit. How are Kuwaitties responding to it?

ISIS is trying to stir sectarianism apparently in Kuwait just like they did in Saudi Arabia but again failed.

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

Kuwait probes suspects linked to mosque attack

An ISIS statement posted on social media earlier on Saturday identified the bomber as Abu Suleiman al-Muwahed. (Al Arabiya)

By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News
Saturday, 27 June 2015

Thousands of people from across Kuwait took part in a mass funeral Saturday for 27 people killed in a suicide bombing that targeted a Shiite mosque a day earlier, Al Arabiya News Channel reported.

Participants at the funeral procession carried the Kuwaiti flag; others raised the black flag to signify mourning. Some in the crowd chanted, "Sunnis and Shiites are brothers!"


Mourners carry the body of one of the victims of the Al-Imam Al-Sadeq mosque bombing, during a mass funeral at Jaafari cemetery in Kuwait City on June 27, 2015. (AFP)

The news comes as Kuwaiti authorities announced they have arrested an owner of a vehicle that transported an Islamist suicide bomber, who carried the deadly attack, Al Arabiya said.

The authorities described him as a Kuwaiti and said they are still searching for the driver of the Japanese-made car, who left the mosque immediately after Friday’s bombing, Kuwait television and the official KUNA news agency reported.

Kuwait began interrogating suspects linked to the suicide attack on the Shiite mosque that claimed the lives of 27 people.

An ISIS statement posted on social media earlier on Saturday identified the bomber as Abu Suleiman al-Muwahed and said the target was a “temple of the rejectionists” - a term used by the Islamist militant group to refer to Shiite Muslims - and said dozens were killed or wounded.

The bomb was reportedly detonated as worshippers kneeled on the ground halfway through the weekly Friday prayers at the Imam Sadiq Mosque, according to Al Arabiya.

The GCC Secretary General Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani said the Kuwait attack was a “horrifying crime” and against “Islamic values.”

Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabah said on Friday that a suicide bombing at a Shiite Muslim mosque in the

Friday’s attack is the first such bombing targeting Kuwaiti Shiites, who make up around one-third of the country’s native population of 1.3 million people.

“This incident targets our internal front, our national unity,” Sheikh Jaber told Reuters after visiting the wounded at the Emiri hospital. “But this is too difficult for them and we are much stronger than that.”

Soon after the blast, Kuwait’s Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber Al-Sabah visited the scene.

A witness said the bombing happened when the mosque was packed with some 2,000 worshippers during Friday prayers.

“It is a suicide bombing,” a security official told AFP.

A spokeswoman for Iran's foreign ministry on Saturday said two Iranians who were residents of Kuwait “were martyred in the terrorist-suicide attack,” according to the official IRNA news agency.

Friday midday prayers are typically the most crowded of the week, and attendance increases during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, which started last week.


Last Update: Saturday, 27 June 2015 KSA 17:40 - GMT 14:40

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/06/27/Kuwait-interrogates-suspects-linked-to-deadly-suicide-attack.html

 

[Scorpion]

Kuwait is a small country. The government will catch those rats in a matter of time.

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

Kuwait arrests two police officers in crackdown on militants

A man reacts next to coffins of victims of Friday's bombing at the Imam Sadeq mosque in Kuwait City, at the international airport in Najaf, south of Baghdad, June 27, 2015. (Reuters)

By Reuters | Kuwait
Wednesday, 1 July 2015

Kuwait has arrested two police officers as part of a security crackdown on Islamist militants launched after last week's deadly bombing on a mosque claimed by ISIS, newspapers reported on Wednesday.

The attack by a suicide bomber on Friday killed 27 people and injured more than 200, prompting the government to declare it was at war with ISIS would strike out at cells believed to be on its soil.

Security forces found weapons, ammunition, maps and slogans supporting ISIS in a raid on the home of a student and another suspect who said they had received the weapons from the officers, al-Rai daily quoted security sources saying.

About 90 people have been detained by authorities investigating the attack on a Shi'ite Muslim mosque in Kuwait City, Al Qabas newspaper said on Wednesday, up from 60 reported by media on the previous day.

The Kuwaiti interior ministry was not immediately available for comment.

Ten suspects -- among them Saudis, Kuwaitis and stateless residents -- had been referred to the public prosecution, it reported, a move that indicates a criminal case has been opened.

Among the 10 are five principal suspects accused of helping the suicide bomber, a Saudi, carry out the attack, it said.

Kuwaiti officials have said the attack was aimed at stirring up sectarian strife in the majority Sunni Muslim state, where the two sects have traditionally coexisted in peace.

Kuwait's interior minister, Sheikh Mohammad al-Khaled al-Sabah, said on Tuesday security forces were determined to dismantle any further cells before these were able to strike.

Friday's attack was one of three that day on three continents linked to ISIS militants. In France, a man was arrested on suspicion of beheading his boss and trying to blow up an industrial gas plant, while in Tunisia a gunman shot nearly 40 people at a beach resort in Tunisia.

Last Update: Wednesday, 1 July 2015 KSA 15:47 - GMT 12:47
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/07/01/Kuwait-arrests-two-police-officers-in-crackdown-on-militants-.html