A six-year-old boy was reportedly brutally killed with broken glass as his mother desperately tried to save him in Saudi Arabia.

Zakaria Al-Jaber was in a taxi with his mother on their way to the shrine of Prophet Muhammad in Medina when the driver stopped the car and forced the boy out.

He dragged him to an area near a coffee shop in the Al-Tilal neighborhood, before smashing a glass bottle, reports TMV.

The report said the taxi driver slit his throat with a shard of glass before stabbing him repeatedly as both his mother and a nearby police officer attempted to stop the brutal attack.

Zakaria Al-Jaber, six, was reportedly beheaded with a shard of glass while on his way to the shrine of Prophet Muhammad in Medina, Saudi Arabia (picture)

It is not known why the driver attacked the boy, but Saudi officials have reportedly claimed he was suffering from mental health issues.

Shia Rights Watch, a group that defends the rights of minority Shia Muslims, also said the boy was killed on Thursday in an act of sectarian violence, but claimed it was a `beheading'.

The group said that an unknown man had asked the mother if she was Shia moments before the attack happened.

They said: 'The Saudi Shia community came together today in mourning and to show solidarity with the parents.

'The community also reported this incident is a result of ongoing violations and lack of protection by the Saudi authority toward its Shia population.'

Shia Rights Watch, whose headquarters are in Washington D.C., said the `beheading' must be addressed ASAP.

They added: 'Shia Rights Watch, other human rights NGOs and activists have long advocated for the rights of this minority through campians, UN and other entities.

'However the population still suffers because of the lack of international commitment to end such violations.

'Beheading of a young child in such manner must be addressed ASAP.'