Second Saudi Arabia suicide bombing fuels ISIS campaign fears
Attacker detonates bomb in car park of Shia mosque in Dammam, killing four people a week after suicide blast kills 21 at another mosque in east of country
Four people were killed in eastern Saudi Arabia after a suicide bomber tried to enter a Shiite mosque during Friday prayers. Islamic State has reportedly claimed responsibility. It is the second attack of its kind in a week.
A car exploded outside the Imam Hussein Shiite mosque in the Al Anoud district of the city of Dammam. However, security officials, cited by local media, say the attackers failed to enter the building itself.
Reports from Dammam described a car bomb explosion at the entrance to the al-Anoud mosque, despite security measures put in place because of last Friday’s incident near Qatif, in which 21 people were killed and 120 injured in the worst attack in Saudi Arabia in a decade.
Video clips showed men at prayers inside the mosque reacting in alarm when a loud bang was heard. The Saudi Press agency reported that guards had approached the attacker’s car as it was parking and that the driver then detonated the bomb. One of the dead appears to have been the bomber.
The Saudi Interior Ministry said the attack took place on Friday close to Imam Hussein Mosque in the provincial capital of Dammam, located about 400 kilometers (250 miles) east of the capital, Riyadh.
Saudi media quoted an Interior Ministry spokesman as saying that a bomber, who was dressed in women’s clothing, detonated his bomb in the parking lot of the mosque after his car was stopped by security guards.
Four people have so far been confirmed killed in the bomb attack, according to the Saudi Interior Ministry. It was not immediately clear if the bomber was among the four victims.
The new assault came a week after a bombing hit a mosque in the al-Qudaih village in the province’s Qatif district, killing 21 worshipers, including two children.
The ISIS terrorist group claimed responsibility for the May 22 attack.
