2nd LD Writethru: UN Security Council slams deadly terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia

The UN Security Council Thursday night condemned "in the strongest terms" a terrorist attack at a mosque in Saudi Arabia earlier in the day, which killed at least 15 people.

The strong condemnation came in a press statement issued here by the 15-nation UN body following the deadly terrorist attack claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as IS or Da'esh, at a mosque at the headquarters of the Special Emergency Security Forces (SESF) in the Asir Region of Saudi Arabia.

"The members of the Security Council stressed again that ISIL must be defeated and that the intolerance, violence and hatred it espouses must be stamped out," the statement said.

A blast triggered by a suicide bomber took place at the mosque inside a special forces headquarters in Saudi Arabia near the border with Yemen, reports said, adding that 12 of those killed were members of SESF, while the other three were workers at the compound.

IS has claimed responsibility for the attack that also left nine others wounded, said the reports.

The Saudi Interior Ministry announced in July that its intelligences have succeeded in foiling four mosque attacks in Ramadan and arrested 431 IS members.

"The members of the Security Council underlined the need to bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism to justice, and urged all states, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with the Saudi authorities in this regard," the statement said.

The council members expressed their "deep sympathy and condolences" to the families of the victims of this heinous act" and to the government of Saudi Arabia, said the statement.

"The members of the council further emphasized that such continued acts of barbarism perpetrated by ISIL do not intimidate them, but rather stiffen their resolve that there has to be a common effort amongst governments and institutions, including those in the region most affected, to counter ISIL, groups that have pledged allegiance to ISIL, Ansar Al Shari'a entities, and all other individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with Al-Qaida, as the council resolved in United Nations Security Council resolutions 2170 (2014) and 2199 (2015)," the statement said.

The members of the Security Council reaffirmed the need to combat by all means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts, and that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed, the statement said.

"The members of the Security Council reminded states that they must ensure that measures taken to combat terrorism comply with all their obligations under international law, in particular international human rights, refugee and humanitarian law," the statement added.

The Thursday bombing was the most serious in recent months against Saudi security forces, who have been targeted in attacks blamed on the IS group.

In mid-July, a car bomb exploded at a security checkpoint near a prison in the capital Riyadh. It killed the 19-year-old driver and wounded two policemen, the reports said.

The latest attack happened in a place close to the border with Yemen, where Saudi Arabia has been waging an intense air and ground war to push back Shia Houthi rebels and restore its ally, President Mansour Abdrabbuh Hadi, to power. Endi