Saudi Security Forces Intercept Militants Plotting Mecca Attack
By BEN HUBBARDJUNE 23, 2017
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Security forces in Saudi Arabia thwarted a militant plot to carry out an attack near the Grand Mosque in the holy city of
Mecca on Friday, according to the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television, citing a statement by a spokesman for the Saudi Interior Ministry.
A successful militant attack in Mecca would be a blow to Saudi Arabia, which derives legitimacy in the Muslim world for its stewardship of the holy sites
and whose monarch bears the title "custodian of the two holy mosques," meaning those in Mecca and Medina.
Security officials in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere have been on alert in recent days, worried
that jihadists could stage attacks during the final days of the fasting month of Ramadan, which ends this weekend, or during the holiday that follows.
After refusing to surrender, a suicide bomber near the Grand Mosque blew himself up, wounding five security officers and six bystanders.