Kuwait has been long engaged in counter-terrorism activities, an active participant in international conferences, and regularly partakes in counterterrorism training. The nation is a member of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS and co-leads the Foreign Terrorist Fighters Working Group with Türkiye and the Netherlands. Kuwait has started its Financial Action Task Force mutual evaluation process.
In anti-terror steps, Kuwait confined a citizen for planning “terrorist acts” within the Gulf country, including against American armed forces, the public prosecution announced in May 2024. The man, whose identity was not disclosed, was detained on charges of joining
banned association and planning terrorist actions inside the country,
the statement stated.
The individual reportedly also publicised audio and video content of the organization’s actions and news on social media. The organization was not anointed. The authorities also stated in the statement that the man learnt to assemble explosives and incite others
to blow up camps belonging to American armed forces.
The defendant reportedly admitted to the charges, leading to the arrest of other indicted individuals.
In January 2024, Kuwait’s interior ministry said that security forces thwarted a plan by a ‘terrorist’ cell that planned to target places of worship belonging to the Shia sect. It led to the detention of three Arabs belonging to a terrorist organization. No further detail was delivered. Kuwait hosts several US military commands. In 2015, a suicide bomber detonated himself inside a packed Shia Muslim mosque, killing 27 people. It scored one of the deadliest militant attacks in decades.
Moreover, the Fourth Dushanbe Conference was held in Kuwait under the title
Strengthening International Counter-Terrorism Cooperation and Building Agile Broader Security Mechanisms—The Kuwait Phase of the Dushanbe Process.
The two-day high-level gathering brought together more than 450 participants, including 33 ministers, representatives of UN specialized agencies, 23 global and regional organizations, and 13 civil society institutions.
