The Shiite community in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province suffered an unprecedented attack May 22, as the Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing during prayer in the Ali bin Abi Talib Shiite mosque in al-Qudaih, a village near Qatif, a predominantly Shiite town associated with a high level of Shiite dissidence, activism and demonstrations.
Saudi authorities named the perpetrator as Salih al-Qashami, an alleged member of an IS secret cell and one of 26 men on the latest Saudi list of wanted radical suspects. The bombing resulted in more than 20 deaths and multiple injuries.