Kuwait: US-bound citizens must check phones for 'extremist materials'

Kuwait has warned citizens traveling to the US to check their phones and laptops to ensure they do not contain any material that could be linked to extremist groups.
1 min read
05 September, 2016
US airports have stepped up security measures in the past few years [Getty]

The Gulf nation of Kuwait has warned citizens traveling to the US to check their phones and laptops to ensure they do not contain any material that could be linked to extremist groups.

The official Kuwait News Agency reported on Saturday that the Kuwaiti Embassy to Washington also urged citizens to “cooperate fully” with American airport officials seeking access to their devices.

It warns that immigration officials could interrogate Kuwaitis and cancel entry visas if extremist photos, videos or other materials are found.

The warning comes after Kuwaiti media reported that three Kuwaitis were refused entry to the US earlier this year.

Kuwait is a US ally that hosts American troops taking part in operations against the Islamic State militant group.

Kuwaiti authorities announced last month having dismantled three IS cells plotting attacks, including a suicide bombing against a mosque with a mostly Shia congregation and hitting an interior ministry target.

An IS-linked suicide bomber killed 26 worshippers last year when he blew himself up in a mosque of Kuwait's Shia minority, in the worst such attack in the Gulf state's history.