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Saudis arrest 19 including 12 Pakistanis over bomb attacks

According to Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki, the first attack in Jeddah – which occurred at 2:15 a.m. local time (23:15 GMT Sunday) – left only the suicide attacker dead.

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Body parts of three people were found after another suicide bombing in the mostly Shia Gulf city of Qatif, the ministry said earlier.

Four security officers were killed in Monday’s attacks that targeted American diplomats, Shia Muslim worshippers and a security headquarters at a mosque in the holy city of Medina. Two security personnel were slightly wounded in the attack.

Another suspected suicide bomber targeted the U.S. consulate in Jeddah earlier Monday, the day Americans celebrated their independence.

A 26-year-old Saudi man, Naer Moslem Hammad al-Balawi, who had a “history of drug use” had been identified as the perpetrator of the Medina attack, the ministry said in a statement published by the official SPA news agency.

At least 19 people including 12 Pakistanis have been arrested by the Saudi authorities over a series of bomb attacks in the country.

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia identified the suicide bomber who struck outside the US Consulate in Jeddah as a Pakistani resident of the kingdom who had arrived 12 years ago to work as a driver.

Seven people were believed killed and two wounded in three separate attacks – in Medina, at a Shiite mosque in Qatif, and in western Jeddah, the economic capital, not far from the U.S. consulate.

The statement added that examination of the remains from the terror attacks in Madina and Qatif “revealed the presence of the explosive Nitroglycerin”, which it said was similar to the substance found in the scene of the bombing at the Jeddah parking lot.

Iran, the region’s major Shi’ite power, also condemned the attacks.

Monday’s bombings came days before the end of the holy month of Ramadan when Muslims fast from dawn until dusk.

No group has claimed responsibility for Monday’s attacks so far.

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Militant attacks on Madina are unprecedented. The Prophet Mohammed’s mosque, which was built by him in the 7th century and also houses his tomb, is the second most sacred site in Islam.

Three, including bomber, dead in blast in Saudi Arabia's Medina: Arabiya TV