Explosion heard in Saudi Arabian city of Qatif, body parts seen - witness
The
explosions targeting U.S. diplomats, Shi'ite worshippers and a security
headquarters at a mosque in the holy city of Medina followed days of
mass killings claimed by the Islamic State group in Turkey, Bangladesh
and Iraq. The attacks all seem to have been timed to coincide with the
approach of Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that celebrates the end of the
Islamic holy month.
A suicide bomber detonated a bomb at a parking
lot outside the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, the second-holiest site in
Islam, a Saudi security spokesman told state news agency SPA.
"Security
men noticed a suspicious person among those approaching the Prophet's
Mosque in an open area used as parking lots for visitors' cars. As they
confronted him, he blew himself up with an explosive belt, which
resulted in his death and the martyrdom of four of the security men,"
the spokesman said.
Five other officers were wounded, the statement added.
A Saudi security official said an attacker parked a car near the U.S. consulate in Jeddah before detonating the device.
A
video sent to Reuters by a witness to the aftermath of the Medina
bombing showed a large blaze among parked cars in the fading evening
light, with the sound of sirens in the background. A picture sent to
Reuters showed a burnt and bleeding man lying on a stretcher in a
hospital.
Other pictures circulating on social media showed dark
smoke billowing from flames near the Mosque of the Prophet, originally
built in the 7th century by the Prophet Muhammad, who is buried there
along with his first two successors.
In Qatif, an eastern city
that is home to many members of the Shi'ite minority, at least one and
possibly two explosions struck near a Shi'ite mosque. The security
spokesman said the body of a bomber and two other people have been
identified, without providing any more details.
Witnesses described body parts, apparently of a suicide bomber, in the aftermath.
A
resident of the city reached by telephone said there were believed to
be no casualties there apart from the attacker, as worshippers had
already gone home to break their fasts. Civil defence forces were
cleaning up the area and police were investigating, the resident said.
A
video circulating on social media and purporting to show the aftermath
of a Qatif blast showed an agitated crowd on a street, with a fire
raging near a building and a bloody body part lying on the ground.
Reuters could not immediately verify the video.
Hours earlier a
suicide bomber was killed and two people were wounded in a blast near
the U.S. Consulate in the kingdom's second city, Jeddah.
The
Jeddah blast was the first bombing in years to attempt to target
foreigners in the kingdom. There was no immediate claim of
responsibility.
Authorities identified the attacker as a
34-year-old Pakistani driver named Abdullah Qalzar Khan, who lived with
his wife and family in the city.
An official of the U.S. State
Department said no American citizens or consulate staff were hurt in the
Jeddah blast. He said the United States was aware of reports of
explosions in Qatif and Medina and would monitor the situation closely.
He
said the State Department encouraged U.S. citizens in Saudi Arabia "to
be aware of their surroundings, and keep security and situational
awareness levels high."
Islamic State has carried out a series of
bombing and shooting attacks in Saudi Arabia since mid-2014 that have
killed scores of people, mostly members of the Shi'ite Muslim minority
and security services.
Police and groups of local volunteers
increased security near mosques in Qatif after suicide bombings hit
mosques in Shi'ite areas last year, killing dozens. Another suicide
blast at a mosque used by security forces killed 15 a year ago.
The top Saudi clerical body condemned the attacks.
"They
are renegades from the (true) religion who have left behind the Muslim
flock and their imam, violating all sanctities," the Secretariat of the
Council of Senior Scholars said in a statement.
"They have no religion," it added.
(Additional reporting by Sami Aboudi in Dubai and David Brunnstrom in Washington; Writing by Peter Graff and Noah Browning; e
The Star online
Tuesday 5 July 2016.
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