JEDDAH: Security forces arrested 19 suspects in connection with the suicide attacks carried out in Madinah, Qatif and Jeddah on Monday, an Interior Ministry spokesman said on Thursday. They included 7 Saudis and 12 Pakistanis.
According to the investigation carried out by the security agencies, the terrorist who blew himself up near the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah was identified as Naer Musallam Hammad Al-Nujaidi Al-Bluwi, a 26-year-old Saudi national. The security agencies also identified terrorists who were involved in the attack on a mosque in Qatif.
The terrorists are Abdul Rahman Saleh Mohammad Al-Emer, 23, who had previously been detained for participating in illegal rallies and calling for the release of detainees held in terrorism cases.
The other two have been identified as Ibrahim Saleh Mohammed Al-Emer, 20 and Abdulkarim Ibrahim Mohammed Al-Hasni, also 20. All those terrorists were never issued national identity cards.
The samples collected from the crime scene were found to have traces of nitroglycerine, a highly explosive material similar to one used in Jeddah blast.
The Interior Ministry said investigations are underway and more details would be announced soon.
The suicide attacks occurred on Monday in Jeddah, Qatif and near the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah killing four policemen and injuring nine.
The bombing in Madinah took place in a parking lot between the city court and the mosque, visited by millions every year.
When security officials became suspicious of an individual who was heading to the Prophet’s Mosque they approached him resulting in him triggering his explosive belt killing four of the officers and injuring others.
Videos circulated on social media showed a car burning and at least two security officers lying on the ground and two others lay crumpled near a burning car. The bomber also died in the attack, which took place at the time of iftar. No worshipper was injured in the attack.
Earlier, in Qatif, two suicide bombers blew themselves up one after the other outside the Faraj Al-Omran Mosque. No casualties were reported.
A witness said a car bomb was detonated near the mosque, which was followed by a suicide attack just before 7 p.m.
Before that at 2:15 a.m. on Monday, a suicide bomber blew himself up near the US Consulate in Jeddah. Security officers confronted him as he moved suspiciously at a parking lot of the Dr. Soliman Fakeih Hospital. Two policemen were wounded lightly in the attack.
The bomber was named as Gulzar Khan, an expat from Pakistan, who lived in Jeddah with his wife and her parents and came to the country 12 years ago to work as a private driver.
Meanwhile, the security men who were injured in the attack that targeted the Prophet’s Mosque have said the incident will not stop them from fulfilling their national and religious duty to the nation and that they will sacrifice their lives to protect the nation from anyone who seeks to break its unity.
The officers said that the words of encouragement by Crown Prince Naif, who visited them at the King Fahd Hospital, made them even more determined to work for their country against the evil forces.
Anad Ayesh, a sergeant from Yanbu who is deployed to the Prophet’s Mosque, said the explosion was heard after the Maghreb call to prayer. He and his colleagues rushed to investigate the blast. They heard the distressed voices of people seeking help.
Terrorists named, arrests made in Madinah, Qatif blasts
Terrorists named, arrests made in Madinah, Qatif blasts
Reconstituted Saudi IP authority’s board of directors approved
- Shihana Alazzaz, who is an adviser at the Royal Court, will continue to serve as chair
RIYADH: The Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property’s newly-reconstituted Board of Directors was approved for a three-year term, the Saudi Press Agency reported Wednesday.
In the reconstituted board, Shihana Alazzaz, who is an adviser at the Royal Court, will continue to serve as chair. She previously served as the deputy secretary-general of the Council of Ministers and was the first Saudi woman to hold the position.
The approval includes extending the membership of Eng. Haitham Al-Ohali, Eng. Osama Al-Zamil, and Dima Al-Yahya.
Badr Al-Qadi and Dr. Mohammed Al-Otaibi join the board as new members.
Alazzaz expressed her thanks and gratitude to King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for their generous and continuous support for the authority.
She also thanked the previous board members for their efforts and wished the new members success.
The authority’s CEO Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Suwailem, said that the new formation of the board reflects the continued generous support of the leadership for the authority, wishing the Board success.
Grand Mosque authority announces free storage for Umrah performers
- Storage facilities are located near the Makkah Library and Gate 64
MAKKAH: Authorities in the holy city of Makkah announced on Wednesday free luggage storage for Umrah performers.
The General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque announced that free storage facilities are available to the east of the Grand Mosque, near the Makkah Library, and to the west, near Gate 64.
Umrah performers must present their permits through the Nusuk app to access the facilities, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Umrah performers can store bags, not loose items, weighing up to 7 kilograms for a maximum of four hours. Valuables, prohibited items, food, and medicine are not permitted. A claim ticket must be presented for retrieval.
The authority plans to extend the service to encompass all areas around the Grand Mosque to better assist visitors, the SPA added.
King Salman, Crown Prince send condolences to Azerbaijan president
- The King and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also extend sympathies to families of plane crash victims
RIYADH: King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman each sent messages of condolence and sympathy to Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev on Wednesday, after the tragic crash of a passenger plane.
The King and the crown prince also extended their heartfelt condolences to the families of those who lost their lives onboard the Azerbaijan Airlines plane, wishing a speedy recovery to the injured, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
On Wednesday morning, the passenger plane, traveling from Azerbaijan to Russia, crashed near Aktau, western Kazakhstan, with 62 passengers and five crew members on board.
Kazakh authorities announced that 28 people had survived.
KSrelief chief meets Palestinian ambassador to Saudi Arabia
- Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah and Mazen Ghoneim discussed Saudi humanitarian efforts to support Palestinians in Gaza
RIYADH: The supervisor-general of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, met the Palestinian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Mazen Ghoneim on Wednesday in Riyadh.
Al-Rabeeah and Ghoneim discussed Saudi humanitarian efforts to support Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Ghoneim expressed his gratitude to KSrelief and praised its strong relationship with the Palestinian people, the SPA added.
KSrelief initiated various projects to support Palestinian hospitals and humanitarian efforts in the Gaza Strip during the ongoing Israeli war.
Earlier in December, KSrelief sent 20 fully equipped ambulances to boost the health sector in Gaza.
It also distributed aid and food parcels that benefited nearly 3,500 Palestinians, some of whom were displaced in the Gaza Strip.
Saudi-Qatari security, military committee meeting held in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia’s Interior Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif and Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani chaired the second meeting of the Saudi-Qatari Coordination Council’s Security and Military Committee in Riyadh on Wednesday.
During the meeting, they discussed ways to enhance cooperation in areas of common interest, to achieve the aspirations of the two nations’ leaders and people, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Prince Saud praised the efforts made by both sides to achieve joint initiatives.