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
fast.
UAE says its war in Yemen "practically over"
Suicide bombers struck three
cities across Saudi Arabia on Monday, in an apparently coordinated
campaign of attacks as Saudis prepared to break their fast on the
penultimate day of the holy month of Ramadan.
The
explosions targeting U.S. diplomats, Shi'ite worshippers and a security
headquarters at a mosque in the holy city of Medina follow 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 fast.
A Saudi security official said an attacker parked a car near the U.S. consulate in Jeddah before detonating the device.
The official said the government was checking the reports of blasts in Qatif and Medina.
In
the only one of the three attacks that appeared to have caused many
casualties, a suicide bomber detonated a bomb near the security
headquarters of the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, the second-holiest site
in Islam.
Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television said
an initial death toll from the Medina blast included three suicide
bombers and two security forces officers.
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
a 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.
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.
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 also killed
15 a year ago.
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