JEDDAH: Suicide bombers blew themselves up in Qatif and Madinah after sundown on Monday, several hours after Saudi security officers foiled an attack near the US Consulate in Jeddah.

In Madinah, a bomb exploded in the vicinity of a police post outside the Prophet’s Mosque, killing four policemen and two civilians, reports said.

A police source told Arab News that the officers manning the post were having their iftar meal when the suicide bomber struck.

The bomber reportedly asked to join the policemen in having iftar and he was welcomed. As soon as he got near, he exploded his suicide vest.

A video circulated on social media showed a car burning and at least two security officers were seen lying on the open ground and two others lay crumpled near a burning car.

Security forces have cordoned off the Prophet's Mosque and worshippers were not allowed to get in or out.

Madinah Governor Prince Faisal bin Salman arrived at the blast location and visited Al Ansar Hospital where the victims of the blast are being treated.

In Qatif, a governorate in the Eastern Province, two suicide bombers blew themselves up one after the other outside the Faraj Al-Omran Mosque. No casualties were reported.

The number of fatalities reported does not include the three suicide bombers.



Earlier Monday at 2:15 a.m., a suicide bomber blew himself up near the US Consulate when security officers confronted him as he moved suspiciously at a parking lot of the Dr. Soliman Fakeeh Hospital.

Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, spokesman of the Ministry of Interior, said the bomber, in his 30s, was identified as an expatriate from the United Kingdom.

Photos taken from the scene showed the bomber’s body partially dismembered by the blast.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks so far. Previous mosque attacks in the past months in the kingdom have been claimed by Daesh militants.

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