Alwaght- A Kuwaiti court sentenced seven men to death on Tuesday, five of them in absentia, for participating in a deadly Shiite mosque bombing claimed by ISIS terrorist group.
According to Kuwait News Agency KUNA, a total of 29 defendants, seven of them women, had been on trial on charges of helping a Saudi terrorist carry out the June 26 suicide bomb attack, which killed 26 Shiite worshippers and wounded 227. The attack was the bloodiest in Kuwait's history.
In July, prosecutors in Kuwait announced that 29 people, including seven Kuwaitis, five Saudis, three Pakistanis, 13 illegal residents and one fugitive with unknown nationalities, had been charged with involvement in the bombing at the Imam Sadiq (PBUH) Mosque.
"The court draws attention to the dangers of this extremist ideology that resorts to terrorism for its implementation," judge Mohammad al-Duaij said before reading out the verdicts in a packed courtroom.
He called on authorities to root out the ideology of the Takfiri extremists.
Among those he sentenced to death was Abdulrahman Sabah Saud, a stateless Arab convicted of driving the bomber to the mosque and bringing the explosives belt he used from near the Saudi border.
During the trial, Saud confessed to dropping off the bomber but said he had been assured that the plan was to blow up the mosque without harming any worshippers.
The second man in the dock who was sentenced to death was Fahad Farraj Muhareb, described by the court as the "wali" or leader of the local branch of ISIS terrorist group.
The other five, who remain at large, include two Saudi brothers, Mohammad and Majed al-Zahrani, who were convicted of smuggling the explosives used in the attack from Saudi Arabia in an icebox.
The other three include two stateless Arabs who were convicted of fighting with ISIS as well as one defendant whose identity has not been established.
The court also sentenced eight people, including five women, to jail terms ranging from two to 15 years for providing weapons training, abetting the attack, or knowing about it and failing to inform authorities.
Twenty-four defendants were in court to hear the verdicts. Men were put in a metal cage, while women were allowed to sit on chairs watched over by a large number of police.
Including those still at large, those tried comprised seven Kuwaitis, five Saudis, three Pakistanis and 13 stateless Arabs, as well as the unidentified fugitive.
An ISIS-affiliated group calling itself Najd Province claimed the Kuwait City bombing as well as suicide attacks at two Shiite mosques in Saudi Arabia in May. Najd is the central region of Saudi Arabia.