The blast hit Al-Imam al-Sadeq mosque in KuwaitCity, security officials and witnesses said.
The official KUNA news agency confirmed that there were “dead and wounded,” but did not provide details.
A witness told AFP “dozens were killed and wounded,” and pictures circulating on social media showed several bloodied bodies in the mosque amid debris.
AFP could not immediately obtain a toll from official sources.
ISIS claims responsibility for #Kuwait mosque attack. Here statement @akhbar pic.twitter.com/WTTn6sOmTD
— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) June 26, 2015
Khalid Al-Shammari, 26 year old Saudi native born in Kuwait & known as Abu Sulaiman Al-Muwahid carried out the attack pic.twitter.com/giu39sXqO8
— IraqiSuryani (@IraqiSuryani) June 26, 2015
The moment when the suicide attacker entered the al-Imam al-Sadiq #Shia mosque in #Kuwait https://t.co/vRGWcEgaCE pic.twitter.com/vCjmbNmLom
— IraqiSuryani (@IraqiSuryani) June 26, 2015
A security official said “it is a suicide bombing.” Witnesses gave a similar account, saying a suicide bomber entered the mosque during the weekly noon prayers.
Vine clip via amichai22 shows impact of Kuwait suicide blast https://t.co/MQvAhfHdqY — Khalid Khan™ (@khalidkhan787) June 26, 2015
An AFP photographer who arrived at the site after the bombing said the area was cordoned off by police.
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.
IS is a radical Sunni Muslim group and considers Shiites to be heretics. – Agencies
