ISIS Claims Responsibility for Killing Dozens in Kuwait Mosque Bombing
According to reports, ISIS is claiming responsibility for a bomb that exploded in a Shiite mosque during Friday morning, killing at least 24 people and injuring dozens of others.
Shortly after the bombing, ISIS released a statement identifying the bomber as Abu Suleiman al-Muwahe, a member of the Najd Province, which also claimed responsibility for recent attacks in Saudi Arabia. It’s reportedly the second Shiite mosque bombed by the terrorist group in recent months, but the first to take place on Kuwaiti soil.
“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,” Khalil al-Salih told the news agency.
According to the BBC, there were around 2,000 people praying at the mosque when the bomb went off. It was also one of several terrorist attacks Friday—at least 27 people were killed in a Tunisia beach attack and another man was found decapitated in France.
Authorities are currently trying to determine if the three attacks were related. The New York Times reports:
“It appears to be an effort to launch and inspire a wave of attacks across three continents, reminiscent of Al Qaeda’s simultaneous multiple attacks of the past,” said Bruce O Riedel, a former C.I.A. officer who is a counterterrorism expert at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
“The Kuwait operation is especially dangerous, as this is ISIS’ first operation in a gulf state,” Mr. Riedel said in an email. “The others will be deeply alarmed.
