Blast near Shia mosque in Saudi Arabia kills four

Published May 29, 2015
Photos posted by journalists on Twitter showed thick black clouds of smoke and a fire blazing at the purported scene of the blast. Photo courtesy @AmichaiStein1 on Twitter
Photos posted by journalists on Twitter showed thick black clouds of smoke and a fire blazing at the purported scene of the blast. Photo courtesy @AmichaiStein1 on Twitter
A car exploded near a mosque in Saudi Arabia's Dammam, killing two people, a witness said. -Reuters
A car exploded near a mosque in Saudi Arabia's Dammam, killing two people, a witness said. -Reuters
Smoke rises after a car exploded near a mosque in Saudi Arabia's Dammam. -Reuters
Smoke rises after a car exploded near a mosque in Saudi Arabia's Dammam. -Reuters
Damaged cars are seen after a car exploded near a mosque in Saudi Arabia's Dammam. -Reuters
Damaged cars are seen after a car exploded near a mosque in Saudi Arabia's Dammam. -Reuters

DAMMAM: The Islamic State claimed responsibility for a car blast during Friday prayers outside a Shia mosque in Saudi Arabia's Dammam city which killed four people, including a driver.

The attack was “foiled” by the authorities, the Saudi interior ministry said.

An Islamic State statement named the suicide bomber as Abu Jandal al-Jizrawi and said he had managed to reach his target despite heightened security.

Map of Saudi Arabia.
Map of Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi Press Agency reported that a bomber tried to enter a mosque in Dammam and detonated his bomb in the parking lot after being stopped by security guards.

It added that guards approached the car as it was parking and that the driver detonated the bomb.

“When they headed towards it, it exploded killing four people, at least one of them believed to be its driver,” an interior ministry spokesman said.

The Interior Ministry said the blast ─ which set several cars ablaze ─ took place at Al-Anoud mosque.

According to witnesses, the suicide bomber was disguised as a woman.

A witness, identified only as Ahmed, earlier told Reuters he was with his family near the mosque when "a quick explosion" happened. He did not know the cause of the blast.

He said acquaintances at the mosque told him a man was killed along with a bomber when he tried to prevent him from reaching it.

Another witness said a passer-by was also killed in the blast.

Photos posted by journalists on Twitter showed thick black clouds of smoke and a fire blazing at the purported scene of the blast.

PM Nawaz condemns attack

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the suicide blast in Dammam.

He deplored the loss of lives and prayed for the early recovery of injured, extended condolences to the government of Saudi Arabia.

Last Friday, a suicide bomber detonated a bomb at a mosque in Shia-majority Qatif during Friday weekly prayers killing 21 people and wounding several others. The self-styled Islamic State (IS) group said in an online statement that it had carried out the deadly suicide bomb attack last week.

Read: Deadly suicide blast at mosque in Saudi Arabia kills 21

Opinion

Editorial

Digital growth
Updated 25 Apr, 2024

Digital growth

Democratising digital development will catalyse a rapid, if not immediate, improvement in human development indicators for the underserved segments of the Pakistani citizenry.
Nikah rights
25 Apr, 2024

Nikah rights

THE Supreme Court recently delivered a judgement championing the rights of women within a marriage. The ruling...
Campus crackdowns
25 Apr, 2024

Campus crackdowns

WHILE most Western governments have either been gladly facilitating Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, or meekly...
Ties with Tehran
Updated 24 Apr, 2024

Ties with Tehran

Tomorrow, if ties between Washington and Beijing nosedive, and the US asks Pakistan to reconsider CPEC, will we comply?
Working together
24 Apr, 2024

Working together

PAKISTAN’S democracy seems adrift, and no one understands this better than our politicians. The system has gone...
Farmers’ anxiety
24 Apr, 2024

Farmers’ anxiety

WHEAT prices in Punjab have plummeted far below the minimum support price owing to a bumper harvest, reckless...