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RIYADH — Authorities have foiled two terror attacks in the Eastern Province during the last 24 hours, security sources in the Kingdom have said.
In the first case, security forces eliminated a Pakistani national wearing an explosive belt near a mosque in Umm Al-Hamam village in Qatif late Tuesday. An accomplice in the attack, also a foreigner, was arrested.
On Wednesday, authorities thwarted a suicide bombing attempt on a busy restaurant, Al Arabiya News Channel reported.
The Interior Ministry said the attack was foiled “hours before” a Saudi and a Syrian attempted to carry out their suicide bombing offensive in the restaurant, located in the Eastern Province’s Tarout island.
Al Arabiya News Channel’s correspondent said Tarout Restaurant is a hot spot for local tourists who visit the eatery to try traditional food.
The ministry also named the would-be bombers. It said the Saudi was Abdullah Abdulrahman Al-Ghunaimi while the Syrian was Hussain Mohammed Ali.
In Umm Al-Hamam village, the relevant security apparatus was on the scene immediately to swipe the entire area to ensure no other bombs were in place, sources said.
According to the sources, it is most probable that all those involved in the planned attacks, are members of Daesh (the so-called IS) terrorist organization.
Last week, security apparatuses had asked the imams of mosques in Qatif to inform security patrols about the presence of any suspicious person in the area.
Saudi Arabia has suffered a string of deadly shooting and bomb attacks in recent months, many of them claimed by Daesh (the so-called IS) terrorist organization.
In July, suicide bombers struck three cities across the Kingdom, killing at least four security officers. The apparently coordinated attacks include a blast near Prophet Muhammad’s mosque in Madinah, two suicide bombings in Qatif as well as a bomb targeting near the US consulate in Jeddah.
