Many casualties in blast at Saudi mosque

Locals are reporting seeing many casualties after an explosion at a Shi'ite mosque in eastern Saudi Arabia.

A suicide bomber has set off an explosion during weekly prayers in a Shiite mosque of eastern Saudi Arabia reportedly leaving 19 dead.

"It has been established that an individual detonated a bomb he was wearing under his clothes during Friday prayers at Ali Ibn Abi Taleb mosque in Kudeih in Qatif province," the interior ministry spokesman said.

The Saudi-owned al-Arabiya broadcaster is reporting 19 dead, while news websites in eastern Saudi Arabia posted pictures of bodies lying in pools of blood.

Saudi Arabia will "hunt down anyone involved in this terrorist crime carried out by people seeking to undermine national unity," the spokesman added.

Kudeih is located in the Shiite-majority district of Qatif in the kingdom's Eastern Province which has been hit by previous attempts by Sunni extremists to foment sectarian tensions.


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Source: AAP



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