Islamic State Claims Deadly Bombing of Kuwaiti Mosque

A fatal bombing has shaken a Shia mosque in Kuwait City, resulting in the deaths of at least 25 people, according to the country's Interior Ministry. The explosion rocked the Shia Al-Sadiq Mosque in the busy area of the residential and shopping al-Sawabir district following Friday prayers.

The attack was claimed by an affiliate of the Islamic State (IS) group calling itself the Najd Province, the same group that claimed responsibility for a pair of attacks on two Shia mosques in Saudi Arabia in recent weeks.

The upstart IS branch had claimed two prior bombing attacks on Shiite mosques in Saudi Arabia that killed 26 people in late May. The group was unheard of until the first Saudi bombing.

Paramedic Abdelrahman al Yusef said most of the victims were men or boys who were at the mosque when the bombing took place. At least 202 have been wounded.

Mohammed al Faili, 32, said that his 70-year-old father was killed and two of his brothers were wounded in the incident. Faili told the Associated Press that he was not at the mosque at the time of the explosion but was heading to the morgue to identify his father's body.

Reports of a bomb attack at the Shia Al-Sadeq Mosque in — Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister)June 26, 2015

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Police formed a cordon around the mosque's complex immediately after the explosion, banning people from entering or gathering near the area. Ambulances could be seen ferrying the wounded from the site.

Friday midday prayers are typically the most crowded of the week, and attendance increases during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, which started last week.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.