This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/29/shia-mosque-attacked-saudi-arabia

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Shia mosque attacked in Saudi Arabia Shia mosque attacked in Saudi Arabia
(35 minutes later)
Security officials say three people have died in an attack by militants on a Shia mosque in eastern Saudi Arabia. Three people have died in an attack by militants on a Shia mosque during Friday prayers in eastern Saudi Arabia, according to security officials.
Witnesses and activists said an explosion at the Imam Rida mosque in Mahasen was followed by gunfire and residents told Reuters that security forces were fighting militants. Witnesses and activists said an explosion at the Imam Rida mosque in Mahasen was followed by gunfire.
Mohammed al-Nimr, the brother of the executed cleric, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, told the Associated Press the attackers had struck during Friday prayers. Images on social media showed wounded lying on the floor of the mosque. Mohammed al-Nimr, the brother of the executed cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, told the Associated Press that security forces and ambulances quickly surrounded the mosque. He said worshippers stopped an attacker from detonating a suicide bomb belt.
The security officials said the three dead was an initial toll. Saudi state media did not immediately report on the attack. Videos and photos circulated on social media showed at least three people lying apparently motionless inside the mosque. Separate video footage showed police firing in the air trying to disperse a crowd as they held one suspect in custody.
Shias in Saudi Arabia have been targeted previously in attacks by Isis, which does not consider them Muslims. Another witness told Reuters that the explosion happened in the mosque’s courtyard, and that one of the suspects then entered the mosque carrying a machine gun.
“The young men [in the mosque] grabbed his gun and beat him up, but he did not die,” the witness said. “The police then came and took him away and the wounded were taken in private cars because ambulance cars did not arrive quickly.”
The security officials said the three dead was an initial toll.
Shias make up 10-15% of the Sunni-ruled kingdom’s population. The minority group, many of whom live in the country’s oil-producing east, have previously been targeted in attacks by Islamic State, which views Shias as heretics.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack.