Amir condemns
claimed involvement, though IS sympathizers online have urged more attacks as an offensive in Iraq slowly squeezes the extremists out of Mosul and their de facto capital of Raqqa in Syria comes under daily bombing from a US-led coalition.
The disrupted attack comes at a sensitive time in Saudi Arabia. King Salman earlier this week short-circuited the kingdom’s succession by making his son, Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman, first in line to the throne.
The newly appointed 31-year-old crown prince is the architect of Saudi Arabia’s stalemated war in Yemen against Shiite rebels. He has also offered aggressive comments about the kingdom confronting Shiite power Iran.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned the Makkah plot and said it remains willing to work with other countries in confronting terrorism.
As the Interior Ministry announced the raid, over 1 million Muslim faithful prayed at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah to mark the end of Ramadan. In July 2016, a suicide bombing there killed four members of Saudi Arabia’s security forces.
Millions of Muslims from around the world visit the mosque, the burial site of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), every year as part of their pilgrimage. The same day in July, separate suicide bomb attacks targeted a Shiite mosque in eastern Saudi Arabia and near the US Consulate in Jeddah.
The Grand Mosque has been the target of militants before, in part because it represents a symbol of the ruling Al Saud family’s clout in the Islamic world. The Saudi monarch bears the title of “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.”
In 1979, some 250 militants seized the mosque and held it for two weeks as they demanded the royal family abdicate the throne. When Saudi troops stormed the mosque, the official death toll was 229, including extremists and soldiers.
Britain condemned as “evil” the foiled attack on the Grand Mosque, calling on nations to cooperate on defeating terrorism.
On the attempt, which was announced early on Saturday, British Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson said, “terrorism respects no country and no religion.
“We all stand together in confronting it and together we will prevail,” he said.
The planned attack involved six people, one of whom blew himself up after being surrounded by Saudi secu-
rity forces.
The Kingdom of Bahrain condemned in the strongest terms the vicious terrorist plot that targeted the security of the Grand Mosque in Makkah as well as worshipers, stressing that the despicable act of terrorism is contrary to all religious, moral and humanitarian values.
In a press statement carried by the Bahrain News Agency (BNA), Bahrain expressed its sincere appreciation of the great role of Saudi Arabia under the wise leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in providing all the comforts and tranquility for worshippers, visitors and pilgrims.
It also lauded the outstanding efforts of the security men in thwarting the cowardly terror plot and affirmed that it stands fully with Saudi Arabia in its leadership role to consolidate and enhance security and peace in the region and across the world.
Bahrain said that it also fully supports all the actions and measures by Saudi Arabia to eliminate terrorist organisations.
It reiterated its firm position in rejecting terrorism and stressed the need for closer international cooperation to eliminate the phenomenon that threatens all nations and peoples without discrimination and to rid the world of the serious scourge and all those who support and finance it.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) strongly condemned the foiled terrorist plot targeting the holy city of Makkah and the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah.
In a press statement, the OIC Secretary General Yusuf Al-Othaimain lauded Saudi security personnel vigilance which helped derail the vicious
terrorist plot to destabilize the Saudi Kingdom.
Al-Othaimain expressed, the panMuslim organization’s solidarity with the Saudi government and people and its support to all measures they may take to counter the threat of terrorism.