The Islamic State continues to advance and strike with apparent impunity. They could be mounting attacks like this one in the U.S. before too long, and then Obama can boast about how there were fewer Islamic State strikes in the U.S. over the past six months than there had been in the previous six.
“Saudi Arabia: 20 people killed after suicide bomber strikes Shia mosque,” Guardian, May 22, 2015:
A suicide bomb attack during Friday prayers at a Shia mosque in eastern Saudi Arabia has killed 20 people and injured more than 50 others, according to local residents and hospital officials.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, US-based monitoring group SITE tweeted. The militant group identified the suicide bomber as Abu ’Ammar al-Najdi, SITE said. The claim could not be independently verified.
The bombing in al-Qadeeh in Qatif province was the first to target Shia Muslims in Saudi Arabia since November, when gunmen killed at least eight people in an attack during a Shia religious anniversary celebration, also in the east.
Activist Naseema al-Sada told the Associated Press the suicide bomber attacked worshippers as they were commemorating the birth of Imam Husayn ibn Ali, a revered figure among Shias.
Lebanon’s Al-Manar television channel, run by the Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah, carried still, blurry pictures of pools of blood inside what appeared to be the mosque where the attack took place. It also showed still images of bodies stretched out on red carpets, covered with sheets….
A hospital official told Reuters by telephone that “around 20 people” were killed in the attack and more than 50 others were take to hospital, some with serious injuries….
Isis claimed responsibility for the bombing on Friday at a Houthi mosque in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a.