Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Kuwait charges 24 'linked to Iran' with plotting attacks

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Kuwait on Tuesday charged 24 people suspected of links to Iran and Hizballah with plotting attacks against the Gulf state, prosecutors said.
Kuwait has charged 24 people suspected of links to Iran and Hizballah with plotting attacks against the Gulf state, prosecutors said Tuesday.

The men were charged with "spying for the Islamic republic of Iran and Hizballah to carry out aggressive acts against the state of Kuwait" by smuggling in and assembling explosives, as well as firearms and ammunition, the public prosecutor said in a statement carried by official news agency KUNA.

It comes after a number of attacks targeting the oil-rich Gulf state.

State of war against terrorism
Kuwait has been working to ward off sectarian tensions and has adopted many measures to try and prevent any further attacks.

In particular it has deployed unprecedented security measures around Shia mosques for Friday prayers, after scores were killed and hundreds wounded following an explosion at a Shia mosque in the Kuwaiti capital in June.

Shias, who make up about a third of Kuwait's 1.3 million citizens, have complained in the past of discrimination in the Sunni-ruled emirate. 

Kuwaiti authorities have arrested several people over the past few months after declaring itself in a state of war against "terrorism".

It has placed police and security agencies on high alert, upgraded its security plan and beefed up measures around oil facilities and other vital installations.

In a bid to prevent further attacks, the parliament also adopted a law requiring mandatory DNA testing on all the country's citizens and foreign residents to help security agencies make quicker arrests in criminal cases.

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