Daesh affiliate claims Saudi police station bombing

CAIRO — A Daesh affiliate in Saudi Arabia claimed on Sunday that its militants detonated two explosive devices in front of a police station in the city of Al Dalam, setting fire to three police vehicles. 

Also Sunday, Saudi interior ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour Al Turki said a person was killed by an improvised explosive device near the police station in Al Dalam.

The statement, carried by the Saudi Press Agency, said police are investigating the incident, which took place on Saturday, but gave no further details on the victim's nationality, who was referred to as a resident. 

The statement issued by the Daesh affiliate Najd province made no reference to that deadly attack, only saying Sunday its bombing took place a day earlier. It gave no further details. 

Some Saudi news websites published images of the aftermath late Saturday night, showing police jeeps and SUVs on fire outside the police station in Al Dalam, located 100 kilometres southeast of the capital Riyadh.

No deaths or injuries were reported. Local police spokesman Fawaz Al Mayman, quoted by the Almowaten website, said the incident is still under investigation and that police would issue a statement soon.

There have been several attacks in Saudi Arabia over the past year carried out by local Daesh group affiliates. The Najd province affiliate is the kingdom's most active. It claimed responsibility for two major bombings in eastern Saudi Arabia and one in Kuwait that killed 53 people at Shiite mosques last May and June. Najd province is the traditional name for the central heartland of the peninsula and the homeland of the ruling Al Saud family.