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Terrorism Targets Second Holy Mosque in Saudi Arabia | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Saudi Emir of Medina Prince Faisal bin Salman bin Abdulaziz (left) visits an injured policeman at a local hospital following a suicide attack near the security headquarters of the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina City on July. AFP


Jeddah, Medina-Saudi Arabia was subjected to three suicide bombing attempts on Monday, one of which targeted security men responsible for guarding the Prophets Mosque in Medina, which is considered the second Holy Mosque in the Kingdom.

Saudi authorities said that four security officers were killed and five injured in the suicide bombing that took place in a parking lot outside the sprawling mosque complex.

Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki said the guards noticed the man was acting suspiciously as he was heading to the mosque through a parking lot and when they tried to approach him, he detonated his explosive belt.

In two other operations, a Pakistani citizen blew himself up also using an explosive belt in Jeddah but without harming anyone.

Moreover, two other suicide bombers blew themselves up in Qatif city east Saudi Arabia, killing themselves and one terrorist who was accompanying them.

For his part, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, received Monday phone calls from King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa of Bahrain and the Ministers of Interior of Bahrain and Kuwait.

During the calls, they expressed their condemnation of the despicable terrorist operations that took place in the Kingdom.

Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, also received a telephone call from Pakistani Army Chief Gen. Rachel Sharif.

The Pakistani official condemned the terrorist act and stated Pakistan’s full support for the kingdom.

In a common matter, Governor of Medina Province Prince Faisal bin Salman said the attack on Medina was a criminal act that killed innocent souls whose killing is forbidden by God in the purest places and in the holy month of Ramadan. He said that such wicked acts only serve the enemies of Islam.

Normalcy prevailed over Medina as the region’s Governor prayed amongst hundreds of thousands of worshipers at the Prophet’s Mosque hours after the suicide bombing took place.