DUSHANBE, July 5, 2016, Asia-Plus – Quoting the Saudi interior ministry, international media outlets report that a suicide bomber has killed four security officers and injured five others near one of Islam''s holiest sites in the Saudi city of Medina, according to the interior ministry.

The bomber detonated his explosives after being stopped outside the Prophet''s Mosque, a statement said.  The mosque is the burial place of the Prophet Muhammad and Medina the second-holiest city in Islam after Mecca.

Every year millions of Muslim pilgrims from around the world visit the mosque, which was founded by Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century and contains his tomb as well as those of the first two caliphs, Abu Bakr and Omar. The adjacent grounds of al-Baqi’ contain the remains of many of the prophet’s companions, who were buried in Medina.  The mosque complex is second only to the Grand Mosque in Mecca in its reverence by Sunnis and Shias.

Suicide blasts also struck two other Saudi cities on Monday.

The fact that an attack happened in Medina at such a place is likely to leave Muslims around the world aghast, BBC World Service''s Middle East editor, Alan Johnston, said, adding that suspicion is likely to fall on so-called Islamic State (IS) militant group.

Al-Arabiya gave a different account of the incident, saying the bomber had targeted the security officers by pretending he wanted to break his Ramadan fast with them.

Earlier, at least one explosion rocked Qatif, an eastern city which is home to many minority Shia Muslims.  The blast appeared to target a Shia mosque. The attacker was killed but no other casualties were reported.

A suspected suicide bomber also died after detonating a device near the US consulate in the city of Jeddah in the early hours of Monday.  Two security officers were slightly injured as they tackled the man, but no-one else was hurt.

The Guardian reports there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the bombings in Qatif and Jeddah were consistent with the modus operandi of Islamic State in its targeting of Shia Muslims and US representatives, as well as Saudi interests.  The group’s leaders had reportedly urged its followers to carry out attacks during Ramadan.  During the last ten days of the holy month, Muslims flock to Mecca and Medina for the minor pilgrimage (umrah).

Over the past week, IS has claimed responsibility for significant attacks in Baghdad, Istanbul and Dhaka, apparently looking beyond its strongholds in northern Iraq and Syria following repeated defeats on the battlefield, according to The Guardian.