Dubai, Manama: Four people were killed on Friday when a suicide bomber tried to enter a Shi'ite mosque in eastern Saudi Arabia, witnesses said, the second attack of its kind in a week.
A witness identified only as Ahmad said he was with his family near the Imam Hussain Mosque in Al Anoud district in eastern Saudi province of Dammam, when "a quick explosion" happened. He did not know the cause of the blast.
He said acquaintances at the mosque told him a man was killed along with a bomber when the man tried to prevent him from reaching the building. Another witness said a passer-by was also killed in the blast.
Daesh quickly claimed the attack on the Dammam mosque on social media identified with the terror group, but this could not be verified independently.
Amateur video of the Dammam mosque bombing on Friday
A suicide bombing on May 22 killed 22 worshippers at a Shi'ite mosque in Al Qadeeh village in an attack claimed by Daesh (the self-proclaimed Islamic State) militants.
Residents circulated pictures of the body of a man believed to be the suicide bomber as well as pictures of large black clouds of smoke billowing over a parking lot outside the mosque.
Social media accounts showed video purporting to show the congregation inside the mosque reacting with shock and alarm to the sound of the explosion outside the building. Saudi security forces surrounded the area and began investigating the incident.
Attack during sermon
Maitham, who was praying close to the gate overlooking the parking lot where the explosion took place, told Gulf News over the phone from Dammam that the attack occurred while the mosque imam was discussing the last Friday’s attack in the Eastern Province town of Qadeeh, which killed 22 woshippers.
“The imam was questioning how a person can blow himself up at a mosque when we heard a loud scream from one of the doors of the mosque. Five seconds after the door opened, we heard a loud explosion and smoke started entering the mosque”.
Panic subsequently ensued in the mosque and the imam canceled the sermon and called for calm.
“When I went to see what was happening I saw a small child and there was so much blood on his clothes, as if someone had spilled red ink on him. He was probably close to the site of the bomber”.
Eyewitness account
“After last week’s attack, I had already been worried about going to today’s prayers,” said Maitham. “Friday prayers will never be the same”.
Maitham said that the mosque authorities had announced earlier the closure of the area surrounding the mosque as well as the section dedicated for female worshippers.
He said that eyewitnesses saw someone dressed as a veiled woman approaching the men’s entrance. “She was stopped by volunteer ushers, following which she started to run. When the ushers caught up with her she blew herself up.
The Saudi ministry of interior has said that the suicide bomber was a man disguised as a woman.
Maitham noted that there was a heavy presence from the security services around the mosque and the ambulances arrived soon after the explosion.
With inputs from Reuters
