Blast outside Prophet’s Mosque In Medina

RIYADH: A suicide blast struck on Monday in Saudi Arabia outside one of Islam’s holiest sites, the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, local media reported. Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya news channel showed images of fire raging in a parking lot with at least one body nearby.

At least three people were killed in the blast, including a suicide bomber and two security officers, Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television reported. The explosion occurred in a security forces parking area, Al-Arabiya reported.

Two other bombers blew themselves up earlier on Monday on opposite sides of the kingdom, which has previous-ly been targeted by the Islamic State group of Sunni extremists.

In Shiite-dominated Qatif, on the Gulf coast, residents said a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a mosque frequented by the minority community. Earlier, a suicide bomber blew himself up near the American consulate in Saudi Arabia’s western city of Jeddah in the early hours of US Independence Day on Monday, wounding two security officers. The Saudi interior ministry said the two officers suffered minor injuries, while the American embassy in Riyadh said there were no casualties or injuries among US consulate staff.