Saudi Arabia arrests 46 suspects linked to Medina bombing

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s security forces said on Sunday that they have arrested 46 members of a militant cell responsible for a stunning attack outside Prophet Mohammed’s (PBUH) Mosque in the holy city of Medina last year. Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki says the group was also behind a suicide bombing near the US consulate in Jeddah. Both attacks took place in July during the final days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, where thousands of worshippers gathered to break the day’s fasting for Ramadan and to offer Maghrib prayers. Four security officers were killed outside the Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) mosque in Medina, one of Islam’s three holiest sites after the suspect detonated an explosive belt near a security headquarters. Al-Turki said that 32 of those arrested were Saudis, while the 14 others were from Egypt, Pakistan, Yemen, Afghanistan, Sudan and Jordan. He spoke to reporters in Riyadh. The ministry previously identified the Medina bomber as Naer Muslim Hamad, a 26-year-old Saudi citizen with a history of drug abuse and the Jeddah bomber as a Pakistani resident. No group has claimed responsibility nor did the interior ministry statement blame a specific group for the attack. With AP inputs