by Leila Mohamed and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, RIYADH
Saudi
Arabia said Saturday that the suicide bomber who detonated an
explosives-packed vest in a mosque inside a police headquarters, killing
15 people, was one of its own citizens.
Thursday's bombing of a
mosque frequented by members of a police special weapons and tactics
unit in the southern city of Abha was claimed by the Islamic State
group.
The Saudi interior ministry named the bomber as Yussef bin Sleiman bin Abdullah al-Sleiman, aged 21.
A
ministry spokesman, quoted by El-Ekhbariya state television, said 11 of
those killed were policemen and four were Bangladeshis who worked at
the police compound.
IS affiliate "Al-Hijaz Province" said in an
online statement that it was behind the attack, the latest -- and
deadliest -- against security forces in Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia in
recent weeks.
It had identified the bomber as Abu Sinan al-Najdi
and vowed to carry out fresh strikes against "tyrants in the Arabian
Peninsula... in the coming days".
There was no explanation as to why different names were given, but the one published by IS appeared to be an alias.
IS,
which controls swathes of Syria and Iraq, has expanded across the
region, claiming responsibility for attacks on two Shiite mosques in
Saudi Arabia in May and a third in Kuwait in June.
The Islamic State (IS) group says it
was behind a suicide bombing on a Shia mosque in Saudi Arabia that
killed at least 10 people.
The attack in Saudi Arabia's Eastern
Province is the first to be claimed by the Saudi branch of IS, which was
formally established last November.
The claim was posted on Twitter with an image of the bomber by an account that is a reliable source on the group.
IS has previously threatened to attack Shia Muslims in Saudi Arabia.
Witnesses reported a huge blast at the Imam Ali mosque in the village of al-Qadeeh, in Qatif governorate during Friday prayers.
A doctor at the hospital said at least 10 people had been killed and about 70 injured, "some very critically".
'Terrorist crime'
Television
pictures of the bombing showed shattered glass and debris inside the
mosque, where scores were said to have been praying.
A spokesman
for the Saudi interior ministry said the bomber detonated a suicide belt
inside the mosque, causing a number of people to be "martyred or
wounded".
"Security authorities will spare no effort in the pursuit of all
those involved in this terrorist crime," the official said in a
statement carried by state news agency SPA.
Analysis: Frank Gardner, BBC security correspondent
It will come as no surprise that the Islamic State group was behind
this calculated attack on peaceful worshippers in a Saudi mosque.
The
Sunni extremists of IS have a special loathing for the Shia and they
will almost certainly have been looking to exacerbate sectarian tensions
between Saudi Arabia's Shia minority and the rest of the population.
Shia anger will likely be directed at the Saudi authorities for failing to protect their community in Eastern Province.
Shias
have been concerned for some time at inflammatory speeches given by
hardline Sunnis that depict them as being 'not real Muslims', a view
shared by IS. In
a statement published online, IS said "the soldiers of the Caliphate"
were behind the attack and pledged "dark days ahead" for the Shia
community. It identified the bomber as Abu Amer al-Najdi.
In a
separate statement, the jihadist group also said it was behind a similar
attack on a Shia mosque in neighbouring Yemen on Friday, which injured
about a dozen people.
Saudi Arabia has previously been threatened by IS, which is being targeted by a US-led coalition in Syria and Iraq.
In
November last year, an audio recording purported to be from IS chief
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi called on Saudi followers to attack Shia targets.
More than 2,000 Saudis are believed to have joined IS, with hundreds having returned home. Saudi Arabia has launched a security crackdown in recent months, arresting hundreds of IS suspects.
Saudi
Arabia's large Shia Muslim minority is mainly based in the Eastern
Province, and there have been sporadic protests by Shia there for
greater rights.
The attack on Friday comes at a time when the
Saudis are leading a coalition of Arab states in an air campaign against
Shia rebels in Yemen.
