Saudi police arrest 46 cell members linked to Medina bombing

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabia’s security forces say they have arrested 46 people suspected of belonging to a terrorist cell responsible for a stunning attack outside of one of Islam’s holiest sites last year.

Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki says the group was also behind a suicide bombing near the U.S. consulate in Jiddah.

Both attacks took place in July during the final days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The bombing outside the Prophet Muhammad’s mosque in Medina killed four security officers.

Al-Turki said Sunday that 32 of those arrested are Saudis, while the 14 others are from Egypt, Pakistan, Yemen, Afghanistan, Sudan and Jordan. He spoke to reporters Sunday in Riyadh.

The ministry previously identified the Medina bomber as a Saudi national and the Jiddah bomber as a Pakistani resident.