Eyewitness recounts horror of explosion

DAMMAM: The blast outside Al-Anoud mosque in Dammam on Friday caused panic and chaos as worshippers rushed to get out of the building and several cars were set alight in the parking lot by the force of the explosion, a witness said.
Ali Al-Haji said he was sitting inside the mosque at noon listening to the sermon, which ironically was about the bombing in Al-Qadeeh the previous Friday, when he heard the sound of the blast coming from the women’s entrance on the southern side of the building.
In response, worshippers ran to the northern side of the mosque, away from the source of the sound. “When I came out of the mosque, I saw three cars on fire, which quickly spread to 17 other cars,” said Al-Haji.
He said that two cousins had been assigned by the mosque’s administration to stand at the women’s entrance to inform worshippers that it was not open for security reasons.
The terrorist detonated the explosives on his body as the security officers chased him, killing three persons.
“This is not the behavior of Muslims, citizen or residents who love this country and its people,” said Al-Haji.
Mubeen Patel, an academic at Jubail Industrial College, said: “Saudi Arabia is the most important country for Muslims across the world. It is sad to see its name being tarnished by a few fanatical individuals trying to destabilize everyone else’s peace and security.”
He said that some people have been “brainwashed” to act in this manner. He was confident that the government would eliminate these terrorists as they have done previously.
Saudis and expats expressed shock and horror at the heinous crime perpetrated by divisive forces. Some of them called it a deeply disturbing and destabilizing act of terror.