A series of suicide bombings hit three cities across Saudi Arabia on Monday, killing six people. At least four security officers were among those killed in the blasts, believed to be a coordinated effort, reported Reuters.
The first explosion took place near the United States Consulate in Jeddah. The suicide bomber was killed and two others were wounded. The next blast was near a Shi'ite mosque in Qatif, where two people, other than the suicide bomber, died. The third attack took place at a parking lot outside the Prophet's mosque in Medina, which left the bomber and four security officials dead and five other officers injured. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks yet.
According to Reuters, security officials noticed a suspicious person in the vicinity of the Prophet's mosque in Media before the attack. He blew himself up with a belt of explosives as they confronted him. The mosque is the burial place of Prophet Muhammad and Medina is considered one of Islam's holiest cities after Mecca.
Authorities identified the bomber at the US Consulate as Abdullah Qalzar Khan, a 34-year-old Pakistani driver who lived with his wife and family in the city. An official of the US State Department confirmed that no American citizens or consulate staff were hurt in the blast.
A top Saudi clerical body has condemned the attacks. "They are renegades from the [true] religion who have left behind the Muslim flock and their imam, violating all sanctities. They have no religion," the Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars said in a statement.
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