The bombing occurred at the Al-Sadiq mosque during Friday prayers, a time when many worshippers were inside the mosque.
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Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior on Sunday revealed the identity of the bomber who attacked a mosque on Friday as a Saudi citizen, official KUNA news agency reported.
Kuwaiti mourners queue to be searched by security members outside the Sunni Grand Mosque on June 27, 2015 as they arrive to give their condolences to the families of the victims of a suicide bombing which took place at the Shiite al-Imam al-Sadeq mosque the previous day, in Kuwait City. Not much is known yet about Qabaa’s background, affiliations, or where he was coming from when he arrived in Kuwait.
In a statement, the information ministry said Kuwait would faced the situation with “unity and solidarity”.
Al-Gabbaa’s attack on a Shiite mosque shows how the Islamic State’s influence and carnage continue to expand.
It also underscored the Islamic State group’s reach and its ability to carry out large-scale attacks – even in this mostly quiet and relatively secure Gulf Arab nation, with its wealthy capital that is home to glistening shopping malls, five-star hotels and Western retail chains.
Police have begun making arrests in connection with Friday’s bombing, which took place at one of Kuwait’s oldest Shiite mosques during midday prayers. Meanwhile, during a security crackdown in Jahra, Taima, Sulaibiya, Riqqa, Ahmadi and Bayan the Ahmadi police are said to have arrested 28 sympathizers of the Islamic State or the so-called DAESH, reports Al-Jaridah daily. The phrasing of its statement suggests Aidan is belongs to the “Bidoon“, a large underclass in Kuwait lacking citizenship and access to jobs. The Interior Ministry described him as a follower of “fundamentalist and deviant ideology”, according to ABC News.
Officials said the bombing was meant to stir enmity between majority Sunnis and minority Shias and harm the comparatively harmonious ties between the sects in Kuwait.
Kuwaiti Shi’ites make up around one-third of the country’s native population of 1.3 million people.
Saudi Arabia and other petro-powerhouses in the Gulf for years allowed a flow of private cash to Sunni rebels in Syria fighting to topple President Bashar Assad, who is backed by Shiite powerhouse Iran.
“The wrath of God will come upon ISIS and everyone who is supporting them and collecting funds for them under the cover of helping refugees and orphans”, wrote Hamad al-Baghli, a Kuwaiti, on Twitter.
Kuwait has been one of the biggest humanitarian donors to Syrian refugees through the United Nations, but it has also struggled to control unofficial fund-raising for opposition groups in Syria by private individuals.
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Abdulrahman Al-Jeeran, a parliamentarian, told Reuters lawmakers should stop “sectarian discourse” and be prevented from using sectarian issues for electoral gains.
