KUWAIT: Kuwait has arrested two police officers as part of a security crackdown on militants launched after last week’s deadly bombing on a mosque claimed by Daesh, newspapers reported on Wednesday.
The attack by a suicide bomber on Friday killed 27 people and injured more than 200, prompting the government to declare it was at war with militants and would strike out at cells believed to be on its soil.
Security forces found weapons, ammunition, maps and slogans supporting Daesh in a raid on the home of a student and another suspect who said they had received the weapons from the officers, Al-Rai daily quoted security sources saying.
About 90 people have been detained by authorities investigating the attack on a mosque in Kuwait City, Al-Qabas newspaper said on Wednesday, up from 60 reported by media on the previous day.
Ten suspects — among them Saudis, Kuwaitis and stateless residents — had been referred to the public prosecution, it reported, a move that indicates a criminal case has been opened.
Among the 10 are five principal suspects accused of helping the suicide bomber, a Saudi, carry out the attack, it said. Kuwait’s interior minister, Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Sabah, said on Tuesday security forces were determined to dismantle any further cells before these were able to strike.
Separately, Kuwait Parliament Wednesday passed the 2015/2016 state budget which projects a 7.0-billion dinar ($23.2 billion) deficit due to the sharp drop in oil prices.
Forty-seven MPs voted for the budget which projects revenues at 12.2 billion dinars ($40.7 billion), a massive 39.2 percent drop from last year’s estimates. Four members opposed the budget.
Spending is projected at 19.17 billion dinars ($63.9 billion), 17.4 percent lower than last year’s estimates.
