Kuwait thwarts IS-linked plot against Shia mosque

Kuwait has arrested three Islamic State group members accused of plotting attacks on a Shia mosque as well as "vital facilities", a security source told AFP.

The trio belonged to a single IS cell and included minors, the Kuwaiti source said, requesting anonymity. They had intended to target the mosque and unspecified sites deemed vital to the country.

Earlier this week Kuwait's interior ministry said it had arrested two minors who had been in touch with IS and received training on making explosives to target a place of worship.

A day later, the ministry said it had arrested a Kuwaiti member of IS who had built a drone to attack a "vital facility".

Since the start of the Middle East war, Gulf countries including Kuwait have arrested dozens of people from cells suspected of links to Iran, mostly Shia Muslims, as the region came under Iranian bombardment.

About one-third of Kuwait's population belongs to the Shia branch of Islam, as do most Iranians, while Gulf natives are largely Sunnis.