(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Kuwait deployed unprecedented security measures around Shiite mosques for Friday prayers following last week's deadly bombing, as the emir attended a rare Shiite-Sunni joint ceremony in a show of unity.
Shiite mosques in Kuwait City were completely cordoned off, and roads leading to them were closed to traffic, as security men and volunteers stood guard, an AFP reporter said.
A Saudi suicide bomber from the Islamic State group blew himself in a Shiite mosque last Friday killing 26 people and wounding 227 others in the worst bombing in Kuwait's history.
Shiites make up a round a third of the oil-rich Gulf state's 1.3 million native citizens.
Thousands of Shiite and Sunni worshippers held a rare joint prayer at the Grand Mosque, Kuwait's largest place of worship for Sunnis.
The emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, attended the noon prayers along with the crown prince, parliament speaker and several cabinet ministers and lawmakers.
Armoured vehicles, elite forces and policemen stood guard outside the mosque, where the mercury hit 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit).
All roads leading to the mosque were off limits to vehicles and worshippers were thoroughly searched before they were allowed inside.
Prayer leader Sheikh Waleed al-Ali, a Sunni, called for national unity and urged Muslims to abandon extremist ideology.
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