RIYADH : Saudi police shot dead a would-be suicide bomber targeting a mosque in the district of Qatif, the interior ministry said on Wednesday.
Security officers "managed to foil a terrorist operation targeting worshippers" at Mustafa Mosque in Qatif, the ministry said. When suspicious officers questioned the man, he tried to detonate a bomb in a sports bag on his back, leading the police to open fire. The suspect died on the way to hospital.
Officers found four kilograms (8.8 pounds) of explosives in his bag. "A search revealed a Pakistani ID which is still being confirmed," the ministry said.
On July 4, a Pakistani resident of the kingdom blew himself up near the United States consulate in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, wounding two policemen.
It was one of three separate attacks throughout the kingdom that day. One occurred at a mosque in Qatif, leaving the body parts of three people.
No group claimed responsibility but CIA director John Brennan said the three bombings bore the "hallmark" of the Islamic State group of extremists.
Authorities arrested 19 people, including 12 Pakistani nationals, after the July attacks. In another incident this month, a Yemeni accused of running over and stabbing a policeman in the southwestern region of Asir had pledged allegiance to IS, the interior ministry said.