RIYADH: A suicide bomber detonated a device near the security headquarters of Masjid-i-Nabvi (PBUH) in Madinah, the second-holiest site in Islam, Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television reported on Monday.
The news channel showed images of fire raging in a parking lot and reported the initial death toll in Madinah as five, which includes the suicide bomber and four security officers.
Security forces cordoned off the area following the attack. Al Arabiya’s correspondent said worshipers were unhurt following the attack.
The sprawling mosque where the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is buried is visited by millions of Muslims from around the world each year during pilgrimages to Makkah.
A video sent by a witness to the aftermath of the Madinah bombing showed a large blaze among parked cars in the fading evening light, with a sound of sirens in the background.
Two blasts outside Shia mosque in Qatif
Earlier, In Qatif, an eastern city that is home to many members of the Shia minority, at least one and possibly two explosions struck near a Shia 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.
“Suicide bomber for sure. I can see the body” which was blasted to pieces, said a witness.
Dawn
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