The Islamic State claimed responsibility for a bombing attack on a Shiite mosque in Kuwait on Friday, which killed as many as 24 people just after midday prayers.
The attack, which struck the Imam Sadiq Mosque in a residential neighborhood in Kuwait City, was carried out by a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt, according to a Twitter account belonging to the group.
Reports of the death toll varied. Early reports said four were killed, but one witness told The Associated Press of seeing at least 10 dead bodies in the rubble of the mosque. The AFP news agency reported at least 13 casualties, while a regional news network said the country's health ministry put the death toll at 24:
#BREAKING At least 13 dead in attack on Kuwait mosque: medics— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) June 26, 2015
#BREAKING: Death toll in #Kuwait attack climbs to 24: health ministry http://t.co/iiHoUr8iVC— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) June 26, 2015
In its Twitter statement, ISIS -- a Sunni Muslim group which regards Shiite Muslims as heretics -- said the bomber had targeted a "temple of the apostates."
Authorities in Kuwait condemned the attack as a "terrorist and cowardly action which threatens our nation and works at tearing apart the national unity."
While Friday's blast was not the first ISIS attack on a Shiite mosque in the Gulf region, it marks the first-of-its-kind attack on Kuwaiti Shiites.
Additional reporting by The Associated Press.