CRISIS AVERTED

Saudis Thwart Attack on Mecca’s Grand Mosque

Would-be bomber reportedly blew himself up when trapped by security forces.

Saudi authorities say they foiled a suicide attack on the Grand Mosque in Mecca after the bomber blew himself up in a nearby apartment. The Interior Ministry said in a statement read out on state television that an attack had been planned on worshippers and security forces at the mosque during the holy month of Ramadan. But after security forces trapped the attacker on Friday, surrounding him in the center of the city, he detonated his explosives, killing himself and injuring six foreigners and five members of the security forces. Authorities said three cells were involved in the bomb plot, and security forces fatally shot a man earlier in the day at a separate site suspected of serving as an Islamist hideout. Five suspected militants have been arrested in connection with the planned attack.