Brother of Medina bomber was protecting Mecca during attack

Brother of Medina bomber was protecting Mecca during attack
Faez al-Buluwi, the brother of the man that detonated a device targeting security forces in the holy Medina city, was on his shift as a security officer in Medina.
2 min read
10 July, 2016
Four security guards were killed in the Medina attack during Ramadan [Getty]

The brother of a suicide bomber that targeted security forces in Islam's second holiest Medina city, was protecting the religion's pinnacle mosque in Mecca at the time of the blast, local media revealed.

Faez al-Buluwi, a Saudi security guard, was protecting worshippers in the King Abdullah extension of the Grand Mosque in Mecca - home to the holy Kaaba during the month of Ramadan.

Officials identified the assailant as 26-year-old Saudi national, Naer al-Buluwi who was allegedly dismissed from his position while serving with the national Border Guards.

His father said he did not see signs of radicalisation in him however admitted he was a "mysterious" individual with a history of drug abuse.

He added Naer's mother had previously attempted to contact the attacker but found his phone was switched off.

"When the attack took place, one of my sons informed her [the mother] about it; she cursed those who conducted the operation and incited it [without knowing it was her son], and her views did not change after she found out,” the father recalled.

Naer al-Buluwi blew himself up near security headquarters in a parking lot next to the Prophet's Mosque.

Four soldiers were killed in the attack, the state news agency SPA quoted an Interior Ministry spokesman as saying.

“When security guards intercepted him he blew himself up,” said the spokesman.

On Friday, Saudi officials arrested 19 people in connection with the three bombings that took place on the 29th of Ramadan in Qatif, Jeddah and Medina.

An interior ministry spokesman said that 12 of the 19 people arrested for the attacks are Pakistani nationals.

The ministry also said that three people who were arrested in connection with the attacks in Qatif were Saudi nationals Abdulrahman al-Omar (23), Ibrahim al-Omar (20) and Abdulkarim al-Husni (20). Authorities added that none of the suspects had obtained national IDs.

As of yet, no group has claimed responsibility fo the attacks, however it is suspected that those arrested may be connected to the Islamic State group.