An interior ministry spokesman told state news agency SPA that “the mosque in Abha, the capital of Asir province, was part of the local headquarters of the Special Emergency Force”, revealed Reuters.
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Thursday’s blast comes more than two months after deadly suicide bombings at two Shiite Muslim mosques in Saudi Arabia – both attacks claimed by the Sunni terror group ISIS.
The Saudi interior ministry said the attack killed 15 people.
“The terrorist attack struck worshippers during prayers”, the spokesman said, giving an initial toll of 10 policemen and three workers killed and nine people wounded.
It was not the first time a mosque has been targeted in Saudi Arabia.
IS said the attack was a message to jihadists held at Al-Hair that they had not been forgotten.
A senior Saudi official said the mosque in Abha, close to the Yemeni border, was used by the security forces.
There was also no immediate claim of responsibility, but groups affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have been blamed for recent attacks in Saudi.
The group issued a press release saying an ISIS suicide bomber focused a “monument of the apostate”, referring to the particular forces’ compound in Abha.
He concluded by expressing the honest condolences of the United Arab Emirates to Saudi Arabia, its Government and people and to the families of the martyrs, offering his best wishes for the rapid recovery of the injured and praying to God that the kingdom would be preserved from harm.
Other attacks in recent months have specifically targeted mosques for the Muslim Shiite minority.
A statement circulating on Twitter said an Islamic State suicide bomber had attacked a “military camp” in Asir province.
Saudi Arabia is also heading a campaign against Shia-led rebels in neighbouring Yemen.
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Before Thursday’s attack, at least 40 Saudi civilians and security personnel were killed in various IS attacks since November.
