Saudi Arabia attacks: Four dead in Islamic holy city of Medina

A suicide bomber has killed four security officers outside the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia. Local authorities say a further five people were injured in the latest attack in the country in the past two days.

The Prophet's Mosque, the burial place of Mohammed, is one of the holiest sites in Islam, second only to the Grand Mosque in Mecca. The location of the attack is "likely to leave Muslims around the world aghast", says Alan Johnston, the Middle East editor of the BBC World Service, who believes "suspicion is likely to fall on so-called Islamic State".

Eyewitness Altayeb Osama said he "heard two large booms" about a minute apart as he was heading toward the mosque for sunset prayers.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"It was very shocking that such a thing happens in such a holy place for Muslims," he said.

This was the third attack in Saudi Arabia. Earlier on Monday, Saudi officers prevented a suicide bomb attack near the US consulate in Jeddah, which was later followed by a bombing at a mosque in the Shia-majority province of Qatif.

"There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the [Medina] attack, but the bombings in Qatif and Jeddah were consistent with the modus operandi of Islamic State in its targeting of Shia Muslims and US representatives, as well as Saudi interests," says The Guardian.