Kuwait mosque attack: Seven sentenced to death

BBC News

Kuwait has sentenced seven people to death over the suicide bombing of a Shia mosque in which at least 27 people were killed.

More than 220 people were wounded in the 26 June attack, which targeted the Imam Sadiq Mosque in a busy area to the east of Kuwait City.

Another eight suspects were given terms of between two and 15 years in jail while 14 others were acquitted.

A group affiliated with Islamic State (IS) said it was behind the attack.

Judge Mohammad al-Duaij read out the ruling before a packed courtroom, saying: "The court draws attention to the dangers of this extremist ideology that resorts to terrorism for its implementation," AFP quoted him as saying.

Mr Duaij called on the authorities to root out jihadi ideology.

Kuwait says the man who carried out the bombing was a Saudi citizen named Fahd Suleiman Abdulmohsen al-Qaba'a.

As well as seven Kuwaitis, those facing trial over the attack included five Saudis, three Pakistanis, 13 members of Kuwait's stateless Bidun group, and one fugitive with unidentified nationality.

The nationalities of those sentenced to death are not clear.

Tunisia and France saw attacks on the same day, although no definite link between them has been established.

The attacks came in the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, when IS had urged its followers to mount attacks.

IS regards Shia Muslims as heretics and says it was behind the attack. In May it carried out bombings on consecutive Fridays on Shia mosques in Saudi Arabia.

It has also carried out similar attacks in neighbouring Yemen and Iraq.