Kuwait mosque bomber raised no red flags, transited Bahrain

On the back of the bomb attack on a Shiite mosque in Kuwait, Gulf Arab nations are weighing additional security measures.

People gather near flag-draped coffins of Kuwaiti Shiite victims inside the hall of Najaf airport in southern Iraq, 28 June 2015 as some of those killed in the attack on a prominent Shiite mosque willShow more

DUBAI // The Saudi man who blew himself up inside a Shiite mosque in Kuwait managed to slip out of his home country without raising any red flags and board a commercial flight transiting via Bahrain less than 24 hours before the deadly attack.

The details of the bomber’s final hours, released by regional authorities, highlight the growing involvement of undetected ISIL sympathisers in the Arabian Peninsula and the threat they pose to countries beyond the battlefields of Iraq and Syria.

Friday’s blast in one of Kuwait City’s most prominent Shiite mosques killed 27 worshippers and injured more than 200. It followed two suicide bombings in neighbouring Saudi Arabia weeks earlier.

Kuwaiti officials have identified the bomber as Fahd Suleiman Abdulmohsen Al Qaba’a, a Saudi man in his early twenties who landed in the country hours before the attack.

The bombing has rattled Kuwait where violence is rare. The nation is ruled by a Sunni monarchy, but has a sizable Shiite minority.

It is unclear how much help Al Qaba’a had inside Kuwait and when and how he obtained his explosives.

Kuwait’s interior ministry on Monday referred five suspects accused of assisting the suicide bomber to the public prosecution, a security official said.

They include the driver who took the Saudi bomber to the mosque and the car’s owner and his brother, who are all stateless people or bidoons.

Two Kuwaiti citizens – the owner of the house used as a hideout for the driver, and his brother - were also part of the group.

Gulf citizens can travel easily among the six-nation GCC bloc, making it simple for Al Qaba’a to exploit the region’s extensive transportation links.

Bahrain’s interior ministry said on Monday that Al Qaba’a arrived in the island nation from the Saudi capital, Riyadh on Thursday night. He remained in transit for two and a half hours before boarding a connecting flight to Kuwait.

Saudi Arabia’s interior ministry said the bomber had no record with security forces or any background indicating terrorist activities.

An audio message accompanied by two still photos that was posted online and promoted by Twitter accounts affiliated with the ISIL group purports to be a final message from Al Qaba’a.

A caption below the clip called the bomber a “soldier of the caliphate” and identified him by the nom de guerre of Abu Suleiman Al-Muwahhed.

In the message, the speaker vowed to pursue “jihad” against his enemies, particularly Shiites in Kuwait, saying “we are on the lookout for you”.

Gulf Arab countries are weighing additional security measures after the mosque bombing in Kuwait.

Bahrain is studying installing security cameras at places of worship while Kuwait’s cabinet on Monday met to discuss new security laws after the attack, state-run Kuna news agency reported. Saudi officials will install security cameras at “important mosques” in each region, Saudi newspaper Okaz also reported.

* Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Bloomberg