KUWAIT CITY — A suicide bomber purportedly from an Islamic State affiliate unleashed the first terrorist attack in Kuwait in more than two decades on Friday, killing at least 27 people and wounding scores more in a bombing that targeted Shiite worshippers after midday prayers.
The attack underscored the Islamic State group’s reach and its ability to carry out large-scale attacks — even in this mostly quiet and relatively secure Gulf Arab nation, with its wealthy capital that is home to glistening shopping malls, five-star hotels and Western retail chains.
The bombing struck the Imam Sadiq Mosque in the residential neighborhood of al-Sawabir, one of the oldest Shiite mosques in this predominantly Sunni Arab nation.
The explosion ripped through the back of the mosque, near the door, as worshippers stood shoulder to shoulder in group prayer. Worshippers recounted seeing a man walk in, stand in the back with other congregants and detonate his device.
