'IS' suicide bomber kills 25 at Kuwait Shiite mosque
June 26, 2015
A suicide bomber attacked a Shiite mosque in Kuwait City on Friday, killing at least 25 people and wounding dozens.
City governor Thabet al-Muhanna told Reuters news agency that eight people were in critical condition after the bomb tore through the mosque as it was packed with around 2,000 worshippers, who had gathered for Friday prayers.
The "Islamic State" (IS) terror group claimed responsibility for the attack on the Al-Imam al-Sadeq mosque. This marks the first time that Kuwaiti Shiites have been targeted. Shiites make up around one-third of Kuwait's 1.3 million citizens. IS, a Sunni group, considers Shiites heretics.
Kuwaiti parliamentarian Khalil al-Salih said the worshippers were kneeling when the bomber came in.
"It was obvious from the suicide bomber's body that he was young. He walked into the prayer hall during sujood (kneeling in prayer), he looked ...in his 20s, I saw him with my own eyes," the parlamentarian told Reuters.
IS carried out similar attacks in recent weeks at Shiite mosques in Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
es/jil (AFP, Reuters)