(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Kuwait yesterday identified the suicide bomber behind its worst militant attack as a young Saudi Arabian man, and said it had detained the driver of the vehicle that took him to a Shia mosque where he killed 27 people.
Kuwait's interior ministry named the bomber as Fahd Suliman Abdul Muhsen Al Qabaa (pictured), and said he flew into Kuwait's airport at dawn on Friday, only hours before he detonated an explosives-laden vest at Kuwait City's Imam Al Sadeq mosque.
Saudi Arabia said Al Qabaa was not previously known to security authorities and had flown out of the kingdom to the Bahraini capital Manama on Thursday, state news agency SPA quoted the interior ministry as saying.
The timing of his arrival suggests he had a network already in place in Kuwait. The Kuwaiti interior ministry said it was searching for more partners and aides in this "despicable crime", adding Qabaa had been born in 1992. Islamic State's (IS) Saudi Arabian arm claimed responsibility for the attack on the mosque, where 2,000 worshippers were praying at the time.
The attack was the most significant act of Sunni militant violence in Kuwait since 2005, when an Al Qaeda linked group calling itself the Peninsula Lions clashed with security forces in the streets of Kuwait City. Nine Islamists and four security force members were killed in the gun battles.
The bombing has sharply heightened regional security concerns because IS appears to be making good on its threat to step up attacks in the fasting month of Ramadan. The ministry said the driver of the Japanese-made car, who left the mosque immediately after bombing, was an illegal resident named Abdul-Rahman Sabah Aidan.
The interior ministry, which had earlier reported the vehicle owner's arrest, said Aidan, 26, was found hiding in one of the houses in the Al Riqqa residential area.
Meanwhile, the Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will visit Kuwait today, QNA reported.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.