Daesh claims Saudi mosque attack targeting police, 15 dead

Riyadh - Thursday's attack was the deadliest against Saudi security forces since Daesh attacks first appeared in the Kingdom last year.

A blast probably triggered by a suicide bomber killed 15 people on Thursday at a mosque inside a special forces headquarters in Saudi Arabia near the border with Yemen.
An interior ministry spokesman said the "terrorist" attack took place during noon prayers in the city of Abha, in the southern province of Asir. Twelve of those killed were members of a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit, while the other three were workers at the compound, officials said. Seven people were also wounded.
The Daesh group claimed the responsibility of the attack.
The UAE Foreign Minister, Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, strongly condemned the "ugly terrorist crime". He said that he condemned in the strongest possible words "the ugly terrorist crime which targeted members of the special emergency services in the Asir province of Saudi Arabia when they were praying as a group the noon prayers in their mosque."
"The UAE expresses its complete and utter solidarity with brotherly Saudi Arabia in confronting terrorism in all its forms," Shaikh Abdullah said. "The UAE stands shoulder to shoulder with the Saudi leadership in whatever draconian steps or measures they may take to eradicate terrorism and to preserve the kingdom, its stability and security, which is the cornerstone of the security and stability of the region," he added. - AFP

• Saudi Arabia