Dozen Pakistanis held in Saudi for bomb blasts

Dozen Pakistanis have been held among the 19 taken into custody following bombings in Saudi Arabia, including the Holy City of Medina, the kingdom's Interior Ministry said on Thursday. Seven people have been killed in three separate blasts in Medina. The blasts included those at a Shiite mosque in Qatif and in Western Zeddah, the economic capital of Suadi, near the US Consulate. A Saudi man, Naer Moslem Hammad al-Balawi, aged 26, had been identified as the perpetrator of the Medina attack. The Zeddah attack was perpetrated by a Pakistani identified as Abdullah Qalzar Khan, a driver, who was living in the city for 12 years. The Qatif attack was carried out by three terrorists, including one named Abderrahman Saleh Mohammad al-Amr, aged 23. Four people were killed in the Medina explosion near the Prophet's Mosque, which came about as Muslims prepared for the Id-ul-Fitr, marking the end of the Holy Month. The body parts of three were found in another suicide bombing in Shiite-populated Gulf City of Qatif. Attacks on Medina are unprecedented. The city is considered the second holiest, which houses a mosque built by Prophet Mohammed, the founder of Islam, which also has his tomb. The Al Saud family considers itself the protector of Islam's holiest cities. IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has called for atttacks against Saudi Arabia, which is taking part in the US-led coalition bombing the jihadists in Syria and Iraq.