Four people killed and five injured after suicide bombing following evening prayers at the Prophet's Mosque in Saudi Arabia – one of Islam's holiest sites

Four people have been killed and five injured after a suicide bombing at the mosque where Prophet Muhammad is buried - one of Islam's holiest sites. Evening prayers were coming to an end at the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia when the bomber struck. He detonated his device near a security building outside the mosque, killing himself and four security

officials.

Several cars caught fire and local media showed images of flames outside one of the buildings overlooking the Prophet's Mosque. The area was packed for prayer during the final days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ends in the kingdom on Tuesday. 

Millions of Muslims visit the sprawling mosque each year during pilgrimages to Mecca.

Qari Ziyaad Patel, 36, from Johannesburg, South Africa, was at the mosque when he heard a blast just as the call to sunset prayers was ending.  People were breaking their fast with dates so the mood was subdued, he said. Many at first thought it was the sound of traditional, celebratory cannon fire, but then he felt the ground shake.

'The vibrations were very strong,' he said. 'It sounded like a building imploded.'

'The vibrations were very strong,' he said. 'It sounded like a building imploded.'

Altayeb Osama, a 25-year old Sudanese visitor, said he heard two large booms about a minute apart as he was heading toward the mosque for sunset prayers. 

He said police and fire trucks were on the scene within seconds.

'It was very shocking that such a thing happens in such a holy place for Muslims, the second holiest place in the world. That's not an act that represents Islam,' Osama said. 'People never imagined that this could happen here.'

Thousands of worshippers gathered to pray inside the Prophet's Mosque just hours after the blast.

The Interior Ministry said: 'Security forces suspected a man who was heading towards Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (the Prophet's Mosque) as he passed through a visitors parking lot.'

'As they tried to stop him, he blew himself up with an explosive belt causing his death, and the death of four security personnel,' said a statement which added that five others were injured.

The victims were all members of the Saudi special emergency forces run by the interior ministry. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Source: Daily Mail