Incident Summary:

08/06/2015: A suicide bomber detonated inside a mosque in Abha city, Asir province, Saudi Arabia. In addition to the bomber, 15 people, including 10 security force members, were killed and nine others were injured in the blast. The Hijaz Province of the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the incident and stated that the group targeted security personnel at the mosque because they supported the status quo in Saudi Arabia and have targeted Islamic State of the Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) supporters.

GTD ID:
201508060043

When:
2015-08-06

Country:
Saudi Arabia

Region:
Middle East & North Africa

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:

Asir

City:
Abha

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more) Bombing/Explosion
Successful Attack? (more) Yes
Target Information (more)
Target Type: Police
Name of Entity Saudi Arabia Police Force
Specific Description Officers
Nationality of Target Saudi Arabia
Target Type: Religious Figures/Institutions
Name of Entity Unknown
Specific Description Mosque
Nationality of Target Saudi Arabia
Additional Information
Hostages No
Ransom No
Property Damage Unknown
Extent of Property Damage Unknown
Value of Property Damage Unknown
Weapon Information
Type Sub-type
Explosives Suicide (carried bodily by human being)
Weapon Details
An explosives-laden belt was used in the attack.
Additional Information
Suicide Attack?Yes
Part of Multiple Incident?No
Criterion 1 (more) Yes
Criterion 2 (more) Yes
Criterion 3 (more) Yes
Doubt Terrorism Proper (more) No
Additional Information Casualty numbers for this attack conflict across sources. Following GTD protocol, the majority reliable estimates are reported here.
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name Claimed Responsibility
Hijaz Province of the Islamic State Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: Posted to website, blog, etc.)
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators 1
Number of Captured Perpetrators 0
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties 16 Fatalities / 9 Injured
Total Number of Fatalities 16
Number of U.S. Fatalities 0
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities 1
Total Number of Injured 9
Number of U.S. Injured 0
Number of Perpetrators Injured 0
Sources
"Saudi arrests suspect over foiled car bombing," Agence France-Presse Top News (English), t, May 1, 2016.
"Saudi Arabia says mosque suicide bomber was Saudi citizen," Xinhua News Agency, August 8, 2015.
"Saudi Arabia: Suicide bomber kills 15 at mosque," The National, August 7, 2015.