May 23, 2015
A suicide bomber killed 21 worshippers during Friday prayers in a packed Shiite mosque in eastern Saudi Arabia on May 22.
Saudi Arabian cleric condemns attack on mosque
Saudi Arabia’s top cleric on Saturday branded a deadly attack on a Shiite mosque a bid to sow chaos in the kingdom.
Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al Al Sheikh was speaking the day after a suicide bomber killed 21 worshippers and wounded 81 in the village of Al Qudeeh in the Eastern Province.
“This totally criminal plot aims to split our ranks and sow chaos in our country but, God be praised, it will not find a way,” Sheikh Abdulaziz told state Al Ekhbariya TV. “The nation and society are united and under a wise leadership.”
It was the first attack in the kingdom to be claimed by ISIL, which warned that more “black days” loom ahead.
The statement on the group’s Al Bayan radio station, identified the suicide bomber as a Saudi citizen with the nom de guerre Abu Amer Al Najdi. The station also identified the attack as being carried out by a new ISIL branch in “Najd Province,” referring to the historic region of the central Arabian Peninsula home to the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
Friday’s attack was the kingdom’s deadliest militant assault since a 2004 Al Qaeda attack on foreign worker compounds, which sparked a massive Saudi security force crackdown.
ISIL — formerly Al Qaeda’s branch in Iraq which broke away and overran much of that country and Syria — has become notorious for its attacks on Shiites, including a deadly Shiite mosque bombing in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, that killed more than 130 people. It was blamed for the killing of eight Shiites in a mosque shooting in eastern Saudi Arabia in November.
Sheikh Mohammed Obeidan, a top local Shiite cleric, urged followers not to give into their anger and maintain the peace.
“We’ll stand before anyone who thinks that our creed is a cause for fear or worry ... mass prayer — in a calm, orderly way with self restraint — is the right way to respond to this corrupt force and hateful darkness,” he told worshippers on Saturday.
He was speaking after thousands of protesters took to the streets of Al Qadeeh on Friday evening to vent their anger at what they saw as the government’s indifference to their safety.
UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon and the United Nations Security Council condemned the attack.
“Such attacks on places of worship are abhorrent and intended to promote sectarian conflict,” said a statement from Mr Ban’s office.
Saudi interior ministry spokesman General Mansour Al Turki told state television the kingdom was seeking to root out ISIL’s presence, especially after the gun attack on a Shiite mosque that killed five people in nearby Ahsa village in November.
The ministry said last month that it had arrested 93 suspected members of the group.
Saudi Arabian cleric condemns attack on mosque | The National
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Suicide bomber strikes at Saudi mosque - in pictures | The National