19 Shiites killed in Saudi suicide attack: Residents
23 May 2015 5:56 AM IST
A suicide bomber targeted a mosque in eastern Saudi Arabia as worshippers were commemorating the 7th century birth of a revered Shiite figure on Friday, the Interior Ministry and residents said.
Habib Mahmoud, managing editor for the state-linked Al-Sharq newspaper in Qatif, said that the local Red Crescent authorities confirmed to him that 19 people had been killed and 28 wounded. There was no immediate word from the Interior Ministry on casualties. The area is heavily populated by members of Saudi Arabia’s Shiite minority.
Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry initially reported that an explosion struck a mosque in the eastern province of Qatif after Friday prayers, without providing further details. It later confirmed that a suicide bomber who hid the explosives under his clothes was behind the attack.
It is the second deadly attack against Shiites in the kingdom in six months. In November, the extremist Islamic State group was accused of being behind the shooting and killing of eight worshippers in the eastern Saudi Arabian village of al-<g data-gr-id="26">Ahsa</g>.
Interior Ministry spokesman Major General Mansour al-Turki said in a statement that today’s attack struck the Imam Ali mosque in a village called al-<g data-gr-id="23">Qudeeh</g>.
A local activist, Naseema al-Sada, told The Associated Press by telephone from Qatif that the suicide bomber attacked worshippers as they were commemorating the birth of Imam Hussain, a revered figure among Shiites. She said the local hospital has called on residents to donate blood.
Lebanon’s Al-Manar television channel, run by the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah group, carried still, blurry pictures of pools of blood inside what appeared to be the mosque where the attack took place. It also showed still photos of at least three bodies stretched out on red carpets, covered with sheets.
IS says it was behind mosque bombing
The jihadist Islamic State group said in an online statement today that it carried out a deadly suicide bomb attack at a mosque in Saudi Arabia’s predominantly Shiite Eastern Province.
The statement said “the soldiers of the Caliphate” were behind the attack by a suicide bomber “who detonated an explosives belt” in the mosque in the Shiite-majority city of Qatif. It identified the bomber as Abu Amer al-Najdi, and published a picture of him.
He struck during the main weekly prayers in Eastern Province, where assailants linked to the Sunni extremist IS killed seven members of the minority Shiite community in November.
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