United States officials said Sunday that they are unsure as to whether nine US citizens were arrested among the 33 people detained in Saudi Arabia last week on terrorism charges.
The English-language Saudi Gazette reported Sunday that four Americans were detained last week, preceded by five others, who were arrested along with 24 people.
Further, an administrative website belonging to the Saudi Ministry of Interior confirmed that four Americans were arrested on 25 January.
A US official told Reuters that the US and Saudi authorities are investigating their names on the database, and that no US spokesperson is now allowed to comment on the issue.
Since 2014, when Saudi Arabia proclaimed “Islamic State” as a terrorist organisation, the state has arrested hundreds of its supporters.
A Shi’a mosque was attacked Friday in the Saudi province of Al-Ahsa’a, resulting in the death of four people, in addition to 18 injured in the attack, which was claimed by “Sunni Jihadists”. Fifty people were killed in similar attacks last year in the kingdom.
One of the detainees is Saudi citizen Abd Al Rahman Al-Tweegry, 22, who detonated a suicide vest outside a Shi’a mosque in Al Ahsa’a.
Another detainee is a 27 year old, who was also wearing a suicide vest at the time of arrest. He was handed over to the police by worshippers after he shot at the crowd, according to the Saudi Ministry of Interior.
The Eastern Province witnessed unrest last month after the Saudi authorities executed prominent Shi’a cleric Nimr Al-Nimr.
