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Medina bombing: Saudi clerics denounce Prophet's Mosque attack Medina bombing: Saudi king pledges 'iron hand' for attackers
(about 5 hours later)
Saudi Arabia's highest religious body has denounced the three suicide attacks in the kingdom on Monday, including one near Islam's second holiest site. The king of Saudi Arabia has promised to strike with an "iron hand" against those responsible for a suicide attack near the Prophet's Mosque in Medina - one of Islam's most sacred sites.
The Senior Council of Ulema said the bombers had "violated everything that is sacred". Four security officers were killed in the attack, as worshippers gathered to break the day's fasting for Ramadan.
Four guards were killed near the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, while only the bombers died in Jeddah and Qatif. Two other attacks elsewhere in the kingdom killed only the bombers.
No group has yet said it was behind the attacks, but suspicion has fallen on so-called Islamic State (IS). "We will strike with an iron hand those who target the minds and thoughts... of our dear youth," King Salman said.
The monarch was delivering a speech to mark Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that celebrates the end of Ramadan.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks but so-called Islamic State has carried out similar bombings, targeting Shia Muslims and Saudi security forces.
Saudi Arabia's highest religious body denounced the three attacks. The Senior Council of Ulema said the bombers had "violated everything that is sacred".
Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, the UN high commissioner for human rights and a member of the Jordanian royal family, said: "This is one of the holiest sites in Islam, and for such an attack to take place there, during Ramadan, can be considered a direct attack on Muslims all across the world."
The Sunni Muslim jihadist group has called for the overthrow of the Saudi monarchy and its supporters have previously carried out bombings in the Gulf state, targeting the Shia minority community and security forces.The Sunni Muslim jihadist group has called for the overthrow of the Saudi monarchy and its supporters have previously carried out bombings in the Gulf state, targeting the Shia minority community and security forces.
IS has also claimed, or been blamed for, a series of deadly attacks in the predominantly Muslim countries of Turkey, Bangladesh and Iraq during the holy month of Ramadan. IS also claimed, or was blamed for, a series of deadly attacks in the predominantly Muslim countries of Turkey, Bangladesh and Iraq during the holy month of Ramadan.
In Monday's first bombing, two security officers were wounded when a man detonated an explosive vest he was wearing near the US consulate in the coastal city of Jeddah shortly after midnight. An interior ministry spokesman identified the assailant in the Jeddah attack as a 35-year-old Pakistani expatriate called Abdullah Qalzar Khan who, it said, had worked as a private driver in the city for 12 years.
An interior ministry spokesman identified the assailant as a 35-year-old Pakistani expatriate called Abdullah Qalzar Khan, who it said had worked as a private driver in Jeddah for 12 years. Two security officers were wounded in the attack.
The second attack took place near dusk outside a Shia mosque in the mainly Shia eastern city of Qatif. The second bombing took place near dusk outside a Shia mosque in the mainly Shia eastern city of Qatif.
IS accused on social media - BBC Monitoring
Saudi Twitter users were quick to blame so-called Islamic State for the Medina attack. Using an acronym based on the jihadist group's previous name, more than 200,000 had used the Arabic hashtag "#Daesh_Violates_Prophet's_Mosque" within 12 hours.
Media personality Waleed al-Farraj wrote: "O Daeshi [man who belongs to IS], you will not find any holy text or Hadith [the words and actions of the Prophet Muhammad] accepting the killing of a Muslim 200 metres away from the burial place of God's Messenger."
@Naifco, said: "The more their criminality increases, the more we will come together", while @AzzamAlDakhil wrote: "The attack on Medina is an attack on a stronghold of Islam. No one dares to attack it unless he has lost faith and mind".
Saudis outraged by Medina mosque bombing
A resident told the Reuters news agency that there were believed to be no casualties apart from the bomber, as worshippers had already left to break their daylight Ramadan fasts.A resident told the Reuters news agency that there were believed to be no casualties apart from the bomber, as worshippers had already left to break their daylight Ramadan fasts.
However, the interior ministry spokesman said the remains of three people had been found and were being identified, without providing any details.However, the interior ministry spokesman said the remains of three people had been found and were being identified, without providing any details.
Not long afterwards, another bomber struck near the Prophet's Mosque in Medina where thousands of worshippers had gathered for the Maghrib prayers.Not long afterwards, another bomber struck near the Prophet's Mosque in Medina where thousands of worshippers had gathered for the Maghrib prayers.
"Security men suspected a person while he was heading to the mosque - where the Prophet Muhammad is buried - through a vacant lot of land used as a parking space for visitors' cars," the interior ministry spokesman said.
"When they intercepted him, he blew himself by an explosive belt, which resulted in his death, martyrdom of four security men, and injury of five other security men.
'Renegades'
On Tuesday morning, the Senior Council of Ulema issued a statement saying those behind the three attacks, whom it described as "renegades", "have no respect for any sanctity and they have no religion or conscience".
The head of the Shura Council, the kingdom's main advisory body, said the attack was "unprecedented".The head of the Shura Council, the kingdom's main advisory body, said the attack was "unprecedented".
"This crime, which causes goosebumps, could not have been perpetrated by someone who had an atom of belief in his heart," Abdullah al-Sheikh said. "This crime, which causes goose bumps, could not have been perpetrated by someone who had an atom of belief in his heart," Abdullah al-Sheikh said.
The Grand Sheikh of Cairo's al-Azhar University, the leading religious institute in the Sunni Muslim world, also stressed "the sanctity of the houses of God, especially the Prophet's Mosque". The grand sheikh of Cairo's al-Azhar University, the leading religious institute in the Sunni world, also stressed "the sanctity of the houses of God, especially the Prophet's Mosque".
The foreign minister of Shia power Iran, Saudi Arabia's main regional rival, wrote on Twitter: "There are no more red lines left for terrorists to cross. Sunnis, Shiites will both remain victims unless we stand united as one. #Medina." Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince and Interior Minister, Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, sought to reassure his fellow citizens.
The Lebanon-based Shia militant group, Hezbollah, which has frequently condemned the Saudi government, said the Medina attack was "a new sign of the terrorists' contempt for all that Muslims consider sacred".
The Afghan Taliban also condemned the attack, saying: "The Islamic Emirate (Taliban) - which has been shocked by this gruesome act - condemns this incident in the strongest of terms and considers it an act of enmity and hatred towards Islamic rituals."
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince and Interior Minister, Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, meanwhile sought to reassure his fellow citizens.
"The security of the homeland is good, it is at its highest levels and thanks be to God it gets stronger every day," the official Saudi Press Agency quoted him as saying while visiting the security officers wounded in the Jeddah bombing."The security of the homeland is good, it is at its highest levels and thanks be to God it gets stronger every day," the official Saudi Press Agency quoted him as saying while visiting the security officers wounded in the Jeddah bombing.