Several worshipers were killed and injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a mosque in Qatif governorate in the Eastern Province on Friday. The blast occurred at Ali Bin Abi Talib Mosque in Al-Qudaih town of Qatif during noon prayers, according to Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, spokesman at the Ministry of Interior.
“A person detonated the suicide belt that he hid under his clothes, resulting in the killing of the man, and martyrdom of a number of worshipers,” the Saudi Press Agency quoting the spokesman as saying.
“The ministry announces that the security agencies won't spare any effort in the pursuit of all those who are involved in this sinful terrorist act, which was carried out by the proponents of sedition who want to undermine the Kingdom's social fabric. The perpetrators of the crime shall be apprehended and brought to justice,” the spokesman said.
Militant group Daesh (the so-called IS) claimed the attack. In an online statement it identified the bomber as Abu Amer Al-Najdi, and published a picture of him.
A witness said about 150 worshipers were in the mosque at the time of explosion. “We were offering the first part of the prayers when we heard the blast,” worshiper Kamal Jaafar Hassan said by telephone from the scene. A photograph posted on social media showed the mutilated body of a young man, said to be the bomber. Other pictures showed ambulances and bloodied victims being taken away on stretchers.
All-round condemnation
Saudi Arabia's top religious bodies and senior scholars strongly condemned the Qatif terror attack. Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al Ashekh described it as a grave crime aimed at inciting sedition and dividing the sons of the nation. “This sinful crime is a big shame and we have to solidly stand by our leaders to defeat th criminals,” he said.
Minister of Justice and President of the Supreme Judicial Council Waleed Al-Samaani; Khaled Al-Yousef, president of the Board of Grievances; the Board of Senior Ulema, the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation and Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques also voiced their condemnation. — With input from Agencies
