Saudi authorities said on Saturday that the suicide bomber who bombed the Shi'ite mosque on Friday in Qatif city, leaving 21 people dead and over 100 others injured, was called Saleh Bin Abdul Rahman Saleh Al Ghishaami and that he was linked to the terrorist Islamic State group.
According to a statement by the Saudi interior minister, Ghishaami, who was a Saudi national, was among others wanted for their affiliation to the terrorist cell that receives instructions from IS. Twenty-six members of the cell were recently arrested, all of whom were Saudis.
Major General Mansour al-Turki, the ministry spokesperson, told the Saudi TV channel Al-Arabiya that the bomber’s father has been under arrest for some time.
The Ghishaami family is one of the most recognizable families in the kingdom. They have a website called “The online camp of the Ghishaamis”.
King Salman bin Abdel Aziz had earlier made a phone call to one of its members to offer condolences over the death of his wife.
Commenting on the announcement by the ministry that Saleh was the one who committed the blast, the family said, “Saleh only represents himself.”
Several Twitter users launched hashtag called #Saleh_Abdel Rahman_ Ghishaami. They condemned the attack and published photos of the perpetrator.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
