KUWAIT, 13 October — Kuwait has arrested 26 suspects who formed a local Al-Qaeda-style “cell” for allegedly plotting to attack vital Kuwaiti and American targets in the state, security sources said yesterday.
But, Interior Minister Mohammed Khaled Al-Sabah said 15 Kuwaitis were arrested for their involvement in the shooting of US Marines, adding that the suspects were planning to strike at five other US and foreign targets.
“We have referred 15 people... to the public prosecution” in connection with Tuesday’s shooting on Failaka Island that left one Marine dead and another wounded, he told a news conference.
“We uncovered plans (by the group) to attack five other locations, American and foreign,” Sheikh Mohammad said.
The two Kuwaitis — Anas Ahmad Ibrahim Al-Kandari, 21, and Jassem Hamad Mubarak Al-Hajeri, 26 — who shot at the Marines were themselves gunned down. Sheikh Mohammed said Kandari was the leader of the group whose members have been rounded up. He criticized the US forces in Kuwait for not coordinating with local authorities in security matters.
A senior oil official said Kuwait had tightened security for oil export facilities and tankers after uncovering the plot.
“We already had an emergency plan in action and we have intensified the operation in view of the latest developments,” the official said.
