EVENT

Saudi Arabia’s interior ministry confirmed on 16 October that a gunman had opened fire outside a Shia mosque in Hay al-Kawthar, in the village of Saihat, in Eastern Province’s Qatif district, killing five civilians and injuring nine.

According to the statement, security forces, which were already in the area at the time, exchanged fire with the gunman, killing him. The attack occurred in the run-up to the Shia religious day of remembrance, Ashura, on 23 October; night-time religious events and ceremonies at Shia mosques and gathering halls in Saudi Arabia began on 14 October.

The Islamic State’s newly declared Wilayat al-Bahrain (Bahrain province) released a statement claiming the attack on 16 October, also maintaining that the gunman was wearing a suicide vest.