Kuwait breaks up new IS cell

Kuwait breaks up new IS cell
Kuwaiti police have clamped down on a cell of the Islamic state group that took part in fighting in Iraq and Syria and underwent advanced arms training.
2 min read
30 July, 2015
26 people were killing in the bombing on the Imam Al-Sadeq mosque [Getty]
Kuwait has broken up a new five-member cell of alleged members of the Islamic state [IS] militant group one month after a deadly bombing at a Shia mosque, the interior ministry said on Thursday.

Police arrested four men while the fifth was killed in a "terrorist" operation in Iraq, the ministry said in a statement. All the members are thought to be Kuwaiti nationals.

Four cell members have allegedly taken part in fighting in Iraq, including the member who was killed, while another "facilitated and supported their travel to Iraq to take part in terrorist operations," the ministry said.

The statement said "the terrorists have confessed to undergoing... advanced training on the use of arms and took part in fighting in Iraq and Syria," where IS controls vast areas.

All the suspects were born between 1982 and 1990.

The case has been referred to the public prosecution for legal action, the ministry said without stating when the arrests were made.

IS claimed a suicide attack on the Shia Imam al-Sadeq mosque in Kuwait City in June that killed 26 people and wounded hundreds.

Authorities have charged 29 people, including seven women, in connection with the worst attack in the oil-rich Gulf state.

A trial is set to open on Aug 4, which will see five of the suspects tried in absentia.