KUWAIT — Kuwait has detained 60 people and closed a local charity for alleged violations in raising funds for Syrians, local media said Tuesday, as part of a crackdown on suspected militant links after the Gulf Arab state's worst ever suicide bombing. Kuwait has stepped up security after a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a mosque during Friday prayers, killing himself and 26 other people. Kuwaiti officials said the attack was aimed at stirring up sectarian strife. Arabic-language Al-Qabas newspaper quoted security sources in the major oil exporting state as saying that 60 people, including Kuwaiti citizens and nationals of other Gulf states, were being held for investigation by security services. Some had been found to have been in contact with militants while others are suspected of belonging to “extremist” groups, Al-Qabas reported. It also said that five people suspected of involvement in Friday's mosque bombing by Fahd Suliman Abdul-Muhsen Al-Qaba'a had been referred to the public prosecutor. The five, it said, had confessed to receiving financial transfers from abroad to carry out attacks targeting houses of worship. Al-Qabas newspaper did not name them but Kuwait's Interior Ministry said it had detained the driver of the vehicle that took Al-Qaba'a to the mosque, the owner of the car and the owner of the house where the driver went to hide after the attack. Al-Rai daily, another Arabic-language newspaper, said the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs permanently closed down the Fahd Al-Ahmed charity on Sunday due to “repeated violations despite warnings.” Quoting a source at the ministry, Al-Rai said the ministry had repeatedly asked the charity to comply with regulations stipulating that funds for Syrians be collected through official channels. The Saudi Cabinet late Monday reiterated the Kingdom's condemnation of the terrorist bombing at Imam Al-Sadeq Mosque in Kuwait, stressing that such terrorist acts are contrary to Islamic values and principles. The Cabinet expressed its condolences to the government and people of Kuwait and the families of martyrs, praying to Allah Almighty to bestow mercy upon the deceased. — Agencies
