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.
Saudi Arabia: 20 people killed after suicide bomber strikes Shia mosque
Sorry - this page has been removed.
(about 1 month later)
A suicide bomb attack during Friday prayers at a Shia mosque in eastern Saudi Arabia has killed 20 people and injured more than 50 others, according to local residents and hospital officials.
This could be because it launched early, our rights have expired, there was a legal issue, or for another reason.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, US-based monitoring group SITE tweeted. The militant group identified the suicide bomber as Abu ’Ammar al-Najdi, SITE said. The claim could not be independently verified.
The bombing in al-Qadeeh in Qatif province was the first to target Shia Muslims in Saudi Arabia since November, when gunmen killed at least eight people in an attack during a Shia religious anniversary celebration, also in the east.
For further information, please contact:
Activist Naseema al-Sada told the Associated Press the suicide bomber attacked worshippers as they were commemorating the birth of Imam Husayn ibn Ali, a revered figure among Shias.
Lebanon’s Al-Manar television channel, run by the Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah, carried still, blurry pictures of pools of blood inside what appeared to be the mosque where the attack took place. It also showed still images of bodies stretched out on red carpets, covered with sheets.
A spokesman for the Saudi interior ministry, calling the attack an act of terrorism, said the bomber detonated a suicide belt hidden under his clothes inside the mosque, causing a number of people to be “martyred or wounded”.
“Security authorities will spare no effort in the pursuit of all those involved in this terrorist crime,” the official said.
A hospital official told Reuters by telephone that “around 20 people” were killed in the attack and more than 50 others were take to hospital, some with serious injuries.
The attack could further harm relations between Sunnis and Shias in the Gulf region, where tensions have risen during weeks of military operations in Yemen by a Saudi-led coalition against Houthi fighters seen as proxies of regional Shia power in Iran.
In 2011, Shias in the east inspired by the Arab spring took to the streets to demand greater rights. Police arrested hundreds of people and a counter-terrorism court sentenced an outspoken cleric, Nimr al-Nimr, to death.
Isis claimed responsibility for the bombing on Friday at a Houthi mosque in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a.
