Manama: Saudi Arabia on Sunday said that it had arrested 46 members of a terror group that targeted worshippers at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah and carried out an attack in Jeddah.
The suspects included 32 Saudis and 14 foreigners from Pakistan, Yemen, Afghanistan, Egypt, Jordan and Sudan, a spokesperson for the Interior Ministry said.
“Investigations are still being carried out to determine the role of each one,” the spokesperson said.
Four Saudi security forces were killed in the attack in July last year in the car park near the sprawling complex of the Prophet’s Mosque, the second most important holy site for Muslims.
The probe also revealed that the group in July 2016 supplied the explosive belt to a suicide bomber, a Pakistani national, who blew himself up when security guards approached him near the parking lot of a hospital in Jeddah. The attacker died and two security men were wounded with minor injuries.
The group was also responsible for killing one of its elements who had informed them he was planning to surrender to the security authorities.
The killing was approved by the overseas leaders of the group who were concerned the suspect would provide the police with details about their activities and plans.
The suspect was slaughtered and buried in a one-metre deep hole. However, the police in the course of the investigation unearthed the body, the spokesperson said.
The suspect was on the police wanted list and was known for his expertise in making explosive bombs.
Two members of the group were arrested in Jeddah where they rented a house to be used to make explosive belts. A raid on the house yielded several chemical substances to make bombs, the spokesperson added.
