Islamic State: Kuwait arrests Egyptian planning 'terrorist act'

Officials in Kuwait say they have arrested an Egyptian who planned to carry out "a terrorist act in the country."

The brief bulletin Saturday on the state-run Kuwait News Agency said the unnamed Egyptian "is suspecting to belong to the organisation that is called the Islamic State" group. It did not elaborate.

It wasn't immediately clear if the Egyptian had a lawyer.

The announcement comes ahead of the Shia commemoration of Ashoura, which marks the death of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala in present-day Iraq in the 7th century.

Shia and Sunni Muslims largely live in peace in Kuwait.

Kuwaiti police have promised increased security ahead of Ashoura. Two Iranians were arrested in recent days for taking "suspicious" photographs ahead of the commemoration.

An IS-claimed suicide bombing in 2015 targeting a Shia mosque in Kuwait City killed 27 people and wounded scores.