IS links confirmed: Saudi Arabia identifies dead suicide bomber

He was wanted by security services for belonging to a terrorist cell, says the interior ministry


Afp May 25, 2015
A Saudi man reacts following a suicide blast inside a mosque, in the Saudi town of Qatif, 400 kms east of Riyadh, on May 22, 2015. PHOTO: AFP

RIYADH:


Saudi Arabia on Saturday confirmed the suicide bomber who killed 21 worshippers at a mosque had links with the Islamic State group, in what the interior ministry called an attempt to promote sectarian strife.


It was the deadliest attack in years to strike the kingdom, and marked the first time the IS group officially claimed an attack in Saudi Arabia.

“His name was Salih bin Abdulrahman Salih al-Ghishaami, a Saudi national,” the interior ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

“He was wanted by security services for belonging to a terrorist cell receiving directions from Da’ish abroad,” it said, using the Arabic acronym for IS.

The militant group had already claimed the attack on Friday in Eastern Province, but it identified the bomber as Abu Amer al Najdi.

“The cell was discovered last month, and so far 26 of its members, all Saudi nationals, have been arrested,” the interior ministry said, raising the number of wounded from 81 to 101.

The bomber struck during the main weekly prayers at a mosque in Qatif.

It is the second attack on  the members of the Shia community in Saudi Arabia since late last year.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 25th, 2015. 

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