More than 10 killed in Kuwait mosque attack, IS says responsible

Updated: 2015-06-26 21:13

(Xinhua)

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KUWAIT CITY - More than 10 people people were killed or wounded on Friday in a suicide bomb strike on a Shiite Muslim mosque, while the Islamic State (IS) militant group claimed responsibility for the attack, according to media reports.

According to the official Kuwait News Agency, a blast rocked the Imam Sadiq Mosque, located in the busy neighborhood of al-Sawabir of the capital city.

The report also confirmed that there were a number of casualties and injuries, yet did not give exact figures.

At the explosion scene, local police has cordoned off the mosque and the surrounding area, and asked residents to stay away from the site, while ambulances were seen ferrying the wounded.

The IS group has claimed the deadly attack in a statement posted on the Internet, saying that the suicide bomber's name was Abu Suleiman al-Muwahed, and the target was a "temple of the rejectionists," which refers to Shiite Muslims by the extremist militants.

If proven to be true, then it is not the first time for the IS group to plot and carry out such attacks against mosques. It has claimed responsibility for bombings at two different Shiite mosques in neighboring Saudi Arabia in recent weeks.

On March 20, IS suicide bombers also attacked two mosques in Yemen's capital Sanaa and Houthi headquarters in the northern Saada province, killing at least 137 people, the most deadliest attacks in Yemen for decades.

Causalities are expected to grow as Friday's midday prayers have always been the most attended of the week, while the number of people joining the prayers would increase during Muslims' holy month of Ramadan that started on June 18.

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