Terrorism in Kuwait

Kuwait has experienced various terror attacks, including those carried out by ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and other acts of Islamic terrorism. Various terror attacks in Kuwait were associated with the Iran-Iraq War, Gulf War, and the subsequent American military support in Kuwait.

Kuwait currently has the largest US military presence in the entire Middle East region.^[1] There are over 14,000 US military personnel stationed in the country.^[1]

1970s

• 1974 attack on the Japanese Embassy in Kuwait
• June 17, 1976: The Al-Anba newspaper building was bombed. editorial offices were destroyed. Five people, including the editor-in-chief, were wounded.^[2]

1980s

• December 1983 - 1983 Kuwait Bombing were attacks on six key installations in Kuwait.
• April 1985 - Ahmed Al-Jarallah was subjected to an assassination attempt when a gunman opened fire on him outside his offices. He was shot six times.^[3][4][5][6]
• May 1985 - A failed assassination attempt was made on Sheikh Jaber Al-Sabah, who was the emir of Kuwait at the time.
• July 1985 - 1985 Kuwait City bombings in which two coffeehouses were bombed.
• January 1987 - Bomb exploded in a shopping district on the eve of the Organization of Islamic Conference meeting.^[7]
• July 1987 - Car bombs exploded in a fashionable shopping district, killing two people and blowing the facades off several stores.^[7]
• 1984-1988 Aircraft hijackings

1990s

Several terror attacks associated with the Gulf War and an assassination attempt on actor Abdulhussain Abdulredha for an anti-Iraq theatrical play.^[8]

Smoke from burning Kuwait oil fields after Saddam Hussein set fire to during Gulf war.

2000s

• October 8, 2002 - Failaka Island attack, in which two Kuwaiti citizens with ties to jihadists in Afghanistan attacked a group of unarmed United States Marines conducting a training exercise on Failaka island, killing one before being killed themselves.^[9]
• October 10, 2002 - Two gunmen with ties to Al-Qaeda open fire on an American Humvee.^[10]
• November 21, 2002 - Two American contractors with Tapestry Corporation were wounded while driving a civilian vehicle when a Kuwaiti police sergeant opened fire at them at close range.
• January 31, 2005 - Kuwait Police infiltrate a terrorist cell belonging to the Peninsula Lions in a Salmiya apartment complex. Five terrorist members and a civilian bystander were killed.
• August 11, 2009 - Kuwaiti authorities reported that they had arrested six individuals accused of planning attacks on U.S. troops stationed at Camp Arifjan. The six men allegedly belong to a terrorist group with ties to Al-Qaeda.
• December 11, 2003 - Ahmed Al-Jarallah's secretary at Al-Seyassah was injured when he opened a large envelope addressed to Jarallah, sent from Beirut, Lebanon. The envelope bomb contained the plastic explosive Semtex.^[11][12][13]

2010s

• June 26, 2015 - 2015 Kuwait mosque bombing - A bombing occurred during Friday prayer at masjid Imam al-Sadeq when a man was seen on surveillance cameras rushing into the masjid and then detonating himself. 27 people killed with 227 injured. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the bombing.^[14] It was the largest terror attack in Kuwait's history.
• August 13, 2015 - Kuwaiti security forces arrested Al-Abdali terror cell belonging to Iran and Hezbollah.^[15][16]
• 2017 - No terrorist incidents were reported in Kuwait in 2017, despite various attempts by ISIS.^[17]

2020s

• January 25, 2024 - Kuwaiti security forces arrested 3 Tunisians over ISIS terrorist plot to bomb Shiite places of worship.^[18]