Death penalty sought for terrorists

Trial of two men who plotted to blow up mosque in Qatif province begins

Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor demanded the death penalty for two terrorists who plotted to blow up a mosque in Qatif in the Eastern Province.

The pair, a Saudi and a Yemeni, had been instructed by the Daesh terror group to cause the explosion, the court heard as the trial opened in the Saudi capital Riyadh. The two men were tasked with leading a Pakistani national who had been designated to blow himself up in Al Mustafa Mosque in the town of Umm Al Hamam.

The scheme failed after the police in the area became suspicious and fired at the Pakistani, killing him before he had time to detonate his four-kilo explosives belt.

Sowing terror

The Saudi man faced charges of belonging to, and operating for, the Daesh terror group, communicating with its members in Syria, participating in their terror schemes in Saudi Arabia, carrying an explosives belt from Riyadh to the Eastern Province to target a mosque and accompanying the wouldbe suicide bomber.

He was also charged with illegal financial operations and travelling to Syria to join terror groups.

The Yemeni suspect was charged with embracing a terrorist ideology, membership of the Daesh group, working on its behalf in Saudi Arabia, contacts with Daesh members in Syria, assisting with the terror attack by selecting a Shiite mosque to blow up and monitoring movements around the mosque to inform his Daesh contacts who commissioned the attack.