RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia said on Thursday it had dismantled an Islamic State cell in the capital Riyadh, in connection with a plot to launch a suicide attack on the defence ministry.
Two militants were killed and five others arrested in raids on three locations on Wednesday, an official source in the newly-created Presidency of State Security said in a statement on state-run television.
Deadly bombing and shooting attacks have been mounted by Islamic State militants against security forces and Shi‘ite Muslims in Saudi Arabia.
Islamic State has for years criticized the leadership of the Western-allied kingdom, the world’s top oil exporter, accusing it of deviating from their strict interpretation of Islam and advancing the interests of their U.S. enemies.
Thursday’s statement said a suicide bomber in the eastern Riyadh district of al-Rimal detonated his vest after security forces surrounded a house used to manufacture suicide vests and explosives.
Source: News Now/Reuters News Agency
