Terrorism suspect blew himself up in Jeddah, injuring 4, Saudi media says

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – A Saudi Arabian man wanted in connection with a deadly 2015 bombing in the kingdom detonated an explosive device in Jeddah on Wednesday, August 10, as security forces attempted to arrest him, killing himself and injuring four
others, state media reported.

Saudi news agency SPA, reporting the incident on Friday, August 12, identified the man as Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Shehri.

Al-Shehri detonated the explosive belt on Wednesday night in Jeddah’s Al Samer neighborhood, injuring three members of the security forces, who were seeking to arrest him, and a Pakistani national, SPA reported.

The injured, who were not named, were taken to hospital, SPA said, without giving details of their injuries.

According to Saudi state media reports, Al-Shehri was suspected of being a member of a domestic terrorism cell that coordinated the 2015 suicide bombing of a mosque in Abha frequented by security force members.

Eleven members of the security forces and four Bangladeshi nationals were killed in the attack, and 33 people were injured, state media reported at the time.

The Saudi Arabian government named Al-Shehri in early 2016 as one of six Saudi nationals wanted in connection with the bombing.

Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holiest site, Mecca, was the scene of a series of large-scale Islamist militant attacks in the 2000s, including on security forces and Western targets.

Such attacks were carried out by Islamic State, Al Qaeda and other groups. Though attacks have since mostly subsided, several people were wounded in a 2020 attack that used an explosive on a World War One remembrance ceremony in Jeddah.

Earlier this year, French prosecutors opened a terrorism investigation into a December 2021 explosion under a French vehicle involved in the Dakar rally sports race in Saudi Arabia. – Rappler.com