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'Islamic State' behind Saudi mosque bombing

August 6, 2015

Jihadist group "Islamic State" has claimed it sent a suicide bomber to blow up a "military camp" in southwest Saudi Arabia. At least 15 people were killed and nine others seriously wounded in the blast at a mosque.

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Police in Riyadh
Image: Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty Images

"Islamic State" (IS) militants have claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at a mosque mainly used by Saudi's elite counterterrorism force in Abha, in the southwest of the country.

The blast killed at least 15 people. Twelve were members of the security forces, and the remaining three were mosque workers, according to the Interior Ministry.

A statement circulating on Twitter claimed that IS had attacked a "military camp" in the region, without specifying a mosque. The statement promised more attacks in the Arabian Peninsula.

Earlier reports on Saudi television had put the death toll at 17.

Media reports said the explosion took place while worshippers were praying at the mosque in Abha, the capital of the southern province of Aseer, near the border with Yemen.

The attack is the latest in a series of bombings in Saudi Arabia, many of them targeting the Shiite minority.

Map of Saudi Arabia

In May, the "Islamic State" claimed two attacks on Shiite mosques in Saudi Arabia in which altogether 25 people died.

Saudi Arabia recently launched a crackdown on the group that has seen hundreds of alleged sympathizers detained.

mm/jil (Reuters, dpa, AFP)