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(Recast)Saudi Arabia arrests 34 suspects over mosque suicide blast

Xinhua, August 12, 2015 Adjust font size:

Saudi Arabia arrested 34 suspects over a recent deadly mosque suicide blast, Al Hayat local newspaper quoted the interior ministry as saying on Wednesday.

According to the report, 30 of the arrested are Saudi nationals, while the rest four are from Syria, Yemen, Bahrain and Pakistan, adding that they are now under investigation.

Earlier, the Saudi authorities said the 21-year-old suicide bomber, who was identified as Saudi Yousif bin Sulaiman bin Abdullah, was a member of the Islamic State (IS) militant group. The IS also claimed that it was behind the attack that killed 15 and left 33 others wounded.

The attacker blew himself up while the worshipers were performing the afternoon prayer in a mosque of an Emergency Force in Abha, the capital of the southern Asir province, said the ministry.

It was the third suicide blast that targeted mosques in Saudi Arabia in recent months. The IS claimed responsibility for all of these strikes.

Last month, the ministry claimed that its agencies have succeeded in foiling four mosque attacks during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and arrested 431 IS members. Endit