Riyadh: The Daesh terror group claimed responsibility for a bomb attack in eastern Saudi Arabia that officials say wounded an officer on patrol.
Police said early Friday that the attack caused a “minor injury” to the police officer. It took place on Thursday night in the country’s predominantly Shiite east. Five vehicles were damaged.
“Authorities (have) started criminal investigations,” the spokesman added.
A post on a website known to be used by Daesh sympathisers claimed the attack and said militants carried out other attacks in the area. The police’s statement, carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, did not mention any other attack.
A Daesh affiliate in Saudi Arabia has claimed a series of attacks and suicide bombings. Eastern Saudi Arabia also has been tense since the kingdom executed a prominent Shiite cleric in January.
In January, a suicide bomber attacked a Shiite mosque in Al Ahsa, killing two people and wounding seven during Friday prayers.
It was the latest assault on members of the kingdom’s minority community, after earlier shootings and bombings claimed by Daesh.
Daesh has also claimed attacks on Saudi security forces, most recently early this month when a police colonel was shot dead in the Riyadh area.
Residents have said that criminal activity including drug trade has also been linked to attacks on police in the east.
Earlier this year, unrest including gunfire, burning tyres and explosions shook the eastern town of Awamiya after the execution of prominent Shiite cleric Nimr Al Nimr on January 2.
He was a driving force behind protests that began in 2011 among Shiites and later developed into a call for equality in the kingdom.
