According to a statement released by the Saudi interior ministry, authorities managed to thwart “terrorist action” that targeted the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
The ministry said the would-be terrorist blew himself up after authorities surrounded his hiding place, a house in Mecca. The suspect is believed to have barricaded himself inside before pushing the trigger which caused the three-storey house to collapse. Eleven people, including five police officers, were injured in the destruction.
Five people, including a women, have been detained.
Had the suspect been successful in his operation, there’s no telling how many lives would have been taken. Every year, millions upon millions of Muslims arrive in Mecca to visit the Mosque and observe the holy month of Ramadan, culminating in the celebration of Eid.
Terror group ISIS have conducted periodic bombings in Saudi Arabia. Last year, a suicide bomber killed four during Ramadan at the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina.
