Three people were killed in an attack the Imam Rida mosque in Mahasan Eastern Saudi Arabia on Friday in what appeared to be a suicide bomb attack.
Reuters reports that witnesses in the area said gunfire proceeded an explosion. Clashes ensued between Saudi security forces who exchanged gunfire with five "terrorists" in the area. One of the suspected attackers was arrested.
The mosque was attacked during Friday prayers.
Islamic State (ISIS) have in the past targeted Shiite mosques in the Sunni monarchies of the Persian Gulf in a bid to stir up sectarian tensions. Two bomb attacks hit Shiite mosques in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia last year.
ISIS despises Shiite Muslims and sees them as non-Muslim heretics. A recent issue of the groups propaganda magazine, Dabiq, sought to demonize them as enemies of Islam who should be exterminated.
The Saudi kingdoms east is often a restive part of the kingdom given that it is home to its Shiite minority, who feel repressed and marginalized by the ruling Wahhabi monarchy. Tensions reached boiling point following the Saudi execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, the Shiite cleric who led Shiite protests against the regime back in 2011.
Reuters reports that witnesses in the area said gunfire proceeded an explosion. Clashes ensued between Saudi security forces who exchanged gunfire with five "terrorists" in the area. One of the suspected attackers was arrested.
The mosque was attacked during Friday prayers.
Islamic State (ISIS) have in the past targeted Shiite mosques in the Sunni monarchies of the Persian Gulf in a bid to stir up sectarian tensions. Two bomb attacks hit Shiite mosques in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia last year.
ISIS despises Shiite Muslims and sees them as non-Muslim heretics. A recent issue of the groups propaganda magazine, Dabiq, sought to demonize them as enemies of Islam who should be exterminated.
The Saudi kingdoms east is often a restive part of the kingdom given that it is home to its Shiite minority, who feel repressed and marginalized by the ruling Wahhabi monarchy. Tensions reached boiling point following the Saudi execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, the Shiite cleric who led Shiite protests against the regime back in 2011.
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