Saudi Arabia identifies bomber in mosque attack for which Islamic State claimed responsibility
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In this April 22, 2015 photo, Saudi men chat near a mosque in Najran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi state television says a bomb has exploded in a mosque in the south of the kingdom, killing at least one person. The blast happened Monday evening in the city of Najran, near the country's southern border with Yemen. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali) (The Associated Press)
Saudi Arabia says one of its citizens carried out the suicide bombing at a mosque in the country's south the previous night — an attack for which the Islamic State group claimed responsibility.
Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki identified the bomber on Tuesday as 34-year-old Saad Saeed Saad al-Harthy.
The blast struck the mosque belonging to the Ismaili Shiite minority in the city of Najran after sunset Monday, killing one person and wounding several others.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist activity online, says an IS affiliate known as "Hijaz Province" claimed it carried out the attack.
It was the fourth bombing targeting Saudi mosques and claimed by IS affiliates since May. The group considers Shiites as heretics and seeks to weaken the ruling Al-Saud family's legitimacy.