Kuwait arrests two teenagers in alleged ISIS bomb plot targeting place of worship

Kuwait arrests two teenagers in alleged ISIS bomb plot targeting place of worship

Kuwait's Ministry of Interior announced on Tuesday that the State Security Service had arrested two minors accused of communicating with members of the extremist group ISIS and receiving training in the manufacture of explosives as part of an alleged plot to target a place of worship in the country.

The arrests followed security monitoring, intelligence gathering and investigations, according to a ministry statement. The two suspects have been referred to the competent judicial authorities to complete legal proceedings in accordance with Kuwaiti law.

The alleged plot comes against the backdrop of Kuwait's heightened vigilance following the country's most significant terrorist attack in 2015, when a suicide bomber killed 26 worshippers and wounded more than 200 at a Shiite mosque. Since that attack, Kuwait has not experienced another successful terrorist incident, though authorities have disrupted multiple plots. In January 2024, security forces arrested three ISIS-affiliated suspects who had conducted surveillance and studied methods for manufacturing explosive devices in a conspiracy to attack Shiite worship places.

The State Security Service, which is responsible for all counterterrorism functions in Kuwait, works closely with international law enforcement partners to mitigate threats. According to the U.S. State Department's 2024 Country Reports on Terrorism, Kuwait's security services arrested 10 ISIS-affiliated suspects in 2024 as part of ongoing preventive operations.

Social media recruitment concerns

The ministry urged parents to closely monitor their children's use of social media and raise awareness of the dangers of extremist ideologies and behaviour that violates the law. This warning reflects growing concern about how ISIS uses platforms including Twitter, Facebook and Telegram to directly target and recruit youth through personal messages, psychological pressure and emotional manipulation, with particular effectiveness among minors.

ISIS has also broadcast training videos on social media demonstrating how to create improvised explosive devices, allowing online indoctrination and training without direct physical contact. This methodology may explain how the arrested minors allegedly received explosives training remotely.

The ministry called for stronger family guidance to promote national values, respect for the law and a sense of responsibility towards the country.

Legal framework

The arrests come just months after Kuwait enacted comprehensive anti-terrorism legislation in March 2026 through Decree Law No. 47, which imposes stringent penalties including life imprisonment or the death penalty for terrorist acts, with minimum sentences that cannot be reduced. However, under Kuwait's juvenile justice system, governed by Law No. 111/2015 as amended in 2017, those aged 15-18 who commit crimes punishable by death or life imprisonment shall not be sentenced to death or life imprisonment.

The ministry reaffirmed its commitment to monitoring and addressing any activities that threaten the country's security and public safety, stressing that all violations of the law would be dealt with in accordance with legal procedures.

Broader regional threat

The alleged plot reflects ISIS's continued focus on targeting places of worship across the Gulf region. In 2024, an ISIS attack at a mosque in Oman killed six people, demonstrating that the terrorist group remains active in the region.

Just 48 hours after the arrest of the two minors, Kuwait's State Security Service arrested another ISIS-linked citizen who had manufactured a drone to target a vital facility, bringing the total to three arrests in two separate but concurrent ISIS-related investigations. The rapid succession of arrests suggests Kuwait is facing multiple simultaneous ISIS threats as part of a broader surge in the group's activity in the country.