Manama: A police patrol in Kuwait was embarrassed after the officers discovered that the black cloth they saw fluttering from a car was not the flag of a terrorist group as they thought but part of a woman’s abaya.
According to a security source, a passer-by called the interior ministry operation room to report a car waving the banned flag of Daesh — the self-proclaimed Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil).
Police patrols were dispatched to the area to locate the car and apprehend its driver and passengers, local daily Al Rai reported on Sunday.
The car and the black “flag” were eventually flagged and the security men chased the vehicle until it pulled over.
The driver, perplexed by the police action, wanted to know the reason for the chase, but he was quickly reassured when he saw the policemen breaking into large smiles.
They reportedly discovered that the black cloth was not the notorious Daesh flag, but a part of the black abaya of an elderly woman who was a member of the driver’s family.
The family had been at the beach on an outing and the woman’s abaya became wet.
She thought of using the wind generated by the car’s speed to dry it, the daily said.
Kuwait has pledged a zero-tolerance policy towards anyone supporting, financially, physically or vocally, terrorist groups.
Action could include revoking citizenship and deportation.
A local daily said that the Cabinet would on Monday review some of the security actions taken against people placed on terrorist lists.
