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Suicide bomber attacks mosque in Saudi Arabia Suicide bomber attacks mosque in Saudi Arabia
(35 minutes later)
A suicide bomb attack on a mosque in Abha city in south-west Saudi Arabia has killed 17 people, the state television channel al-Ekhbariya reported. A bomb has ripped through a mosque used by Saudi Arabian interior ministry special forces in the south-western city of Abha, killing 17 people, according to state TV.
The mosque served a state security unit called the Special Emergency Force, and all those killed were members, the channel said. An official at the ministry said the bomb targeted police trainees as they were in the middle of prayer. The official could not confirm if the mosque was inside a compound or if the blast was caused by a suicide bomber.
More soon … State media reported that the mosque belonged to an interior ministry emergency services post in Abha. The official state news channel Al-Ekhbariya said at least 10 of the dead were members of the security forces.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but blame is likely to fall on Islamic State, whose local affiliate has claimed responsibility for several attacks in recent months.
A suicide bomber who struck a Shia mosque in the eastern village of al-Qudeeh in May killed 22 people. The incident was the deadliest militant assault in the kingdom in more than a decade, and was followed a week later by a suicide bombing outside another eastern Shia mosque that left four dead.
In November, a gunman opened fire in a mosque in the eastern village of al-Ahsa, killing eight. Several members of the security forces have also been targeted in shooting attacks.
Related: Second Saudi Arabia suicide bombing fuels Isis campaign fears
Saudi authorities announced the arrest of more than 400 suspects in July in an anti-terrorism sweep. They said at the time that they had thwarted other Isis attacks being plotted in the kingdom, including a suicide bomb plot targeting a large mosque in eastern Saudi Arabia that can hold 3,000 worshippers, and attempts to attack other mosques, diplomatic missions and security bodies.
Saudi Arabia is also leading a coalition targeting Iran-allied Shia rebels in neighbouring Yemen, near Abha. The rebels have carried out several cross-border attacks against military targets.