Suicide bombings shake Saudi Arabia, four dead at holy site

Riyadh : Three suicide bombings have struck across Saudi Arabia in a single day, including a shocking attack at Islam's second holiest site, the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, where four security guards were killed.

Monday's attacks on Islam's spiritual home came as Muslims prepare for the feast this week marking the end of the holy fasting month Ramadan.

There were no claims of responsiblity, but the Islamic State group had urged its supporters to carry out attacks during the holy month and has claimed or been blamed for a wave of Ramadan shootings and bombings including in Orlando, Bangladesh, Istanbul and Baghdad.

The suicide bombing in Medina came during sunset prayers at the Prophet's Mosque -- where Islam's Prophet Mohammed is buried and which attracts millions of pilgrims each year.

The Saudi interior ministry said in a statement that security forces became suspicious of a man who was heading for the Prophet's Mosque through a 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," the statement said, adding that five others were injured.

The targeting of Medina caused widespread outrage.

Cairo-based Al-Azhar condemned the attacks and stressed "the sanctity of the houses of God, especially the Prophet's Mosque."

Saudi Arabia's supreme council of clerics said the attacks "prove that those renegades... have violated everything that is sacred."

The head of Saudi Arabia's Shura Council, the kingdom's main advisory body, said the attack was "unprecedented".

"This crime, which causes goosebumps, could not have been perpetrated by someone who had an atom of belief in his heart,” Abdullah al-Sheikh said.