Reuters/Riyadh
Saudi Arabia’s crown prince has called for higher vigilance and better preparedness in the kingdom after a suicide attack claimed by Islamic State on a security forces mosque killed 15 people, state news agency SPA reported late on Saturday.
Thursday’s attack followed two bombings in May of mosques used by the kingdom’s Shia Muslim minority that killed 25, several shootings of policemen in Riyadh and a car bomb outside a prison in the capital in July, all claimed by IS.
“His Highness Prince Mohamed bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz called on the need to intensify preparedness and raise the level of caution in the face of any developments that, God forbid, may arise,” the official Saudi Press Agency reported. The crown prince is also interior minister.
IS’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi called last year for supporters in Saudi Arabia to launch their own attacks on Shias, government targets and Westerners instead of travelling to Iraq or Syria to join his group.
Thursday’s blast took place during noon prayers at the mosque in the Special Emergency Forces Centre in Abha, the capital of the southwestern Asir province, killing five members of the force, six trainees and four Bangladeshi workers.
IS claimed responsibility for attacking what it called “a military camp” on Thursday.
