Extremist group Daesh posted an online statement Friday claiming to have carried out a deadly suicide bomb attack on a Shiite mosque in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, AFP reported.
The statement said “soldiers of the caliphate” were responsible for the attack, in which a suicide bomber “detonated an explosives belt” in the Imam Ali mosque during Friday prayers in the Shia-majority city of Qatif.
The statement also identified the bomber as Abu Amer al-Najdi, according to AFP.
Reports vary on casualties, with at least 15-30 killed and 30 wounded, sources told Reuters.
Saudi Arabia is currently involved in an air campaign against Iran-backed Shiite Houthi insurgents in neighboring Yemen, which has intensified sectarian tensions in the region.
Daesh's statement Friday marked the first time the group claimed an attack in Saudi Arabia.
