Saudi Security Forces Intercept Militants Plotting Mecca Attack<br />By BEN HUBBARDJUNE 23, 2017<br />BEIRUT, Lebanon — Security forces in Saudi Arabia thwarted a militant plot to carry out an attack near the Grand Mosque in the holy city of<br />Mecca on Friday, according to the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television, citing a statement by a spokesman for the Saudi Interior Ministry.<br />A successful militant attack in Mecca would be a blow to Saudi Arabia, which derives legitimacy in the Muslim world for its stewardship of the holy sites<br />and whose monarch bears the title "custodian of the two holy mosques," meaning those in Mecca and Medina.<br />Security officials in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere have been on alert in recent days, worried<br />that jihadists could stage attacks during the final days of the fasting month of Ramadan, which ends this weekend, or during the holiday that follows.<br />After refusing to surrender, a suicide bomber near the Grand Mosque blew himself up, wounding five security officers and six bystanders.
