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Explosion rocks Jeddah suburb as suspected militants self-detonate

Explosion rocks Jeddah suburb as suspected militants self-detonate
MENA
2 min read
21 January, 2017
The incident took place in the Hazarat district of the city in Saudi Arabia with no immediate comment from the interior ministry
The explosion occurred in the Hazarat district of Jeddah [YouTube]

The Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah was rocked on Saturday by an explosion in the Hazarat district.

Two suspected militants are reported to have self-detonated when when confronted by security forces in a residential area in Saudi Arabia’s second city following an exchange of fire, reported a website affiliated with the country’s Interior Ministry. 

Videos of the incident show a large explosion and smoke billowing from a brown two-storey building proceeded by a brief burst of gun shots. 

Al-Akhbar 24 reported that one of the suspected militants confronted by security forces detonated an explosive belt in an area being used as an explosives factory leading to the large-scale blast.

There was no immediate comment from the Saudi interior ministry.

Saturday's incident follows on from the killing of two suspected Islamic State group-linked militants in a dawn raid in Riyadh on 7 January. 

IS has conducted a number of bomb attacks and shootings in Saudi Arabia since 2014 that have mainly targetted members of the country's Shia minority and security services.

In July 2016 a suicide bomber was killed and two people were wounded in a blast near the US consulate in Jeddah, the first bombing to target foreigners in the kingdom for years.

Translation: Video of the siege, exchange of fire, and terrorist explosion in the Harazat neighbourhood of Jeddah.