4 security guards killed, 5 wounded outside Prophet's Mosque

Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry says four security officers were killed and five others wounded Monday night after a man detonated a suicide vest in a parking lot outside of the Prophet's Mosque in Medina.

The mosque is one of the holiest sites in Islam, and the burial place of the Prophet Muhammad. Thousands of worshipers were at the mosque for sunset prayers when the bomb went off in a parking lot outside of the complex; the state-run al-Ekhbariya news channel reports the suicide bomber detonated his vest after security officers raised suspicions about him.

Iyad Madani, the secretary general of the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation, said the attacks are an attempt to destabilize Saudi Arabia, adding that the kingdom is "the cornerstone of security and stability in the region and the Islamic world." No group has claimed responsibility for the attack or other suicide bombings in Jeddah and Qatif on Monday.

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