Egypt strongly condemns 'vile' attempt to attack Grand Mosque in Mecca

Ahram Online , Saturday 24 Jun 2017

Saudi security foiled a terrorist operation Friday, in the last days of Ramadan

Grand mosque
File photo of General view of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia September 9, 2016. (Photo: Reuters)

Egypt has condemned "in the strongest terms" the failed terrorist attack that targeted Islam's holiest site in Mecca, the Grand Mosque, calling on the international community to join forces to combat terrorism, uproot it and cut off its sources of funding.

In a statement issued by the foreign ministry late Friday, Cairo stressed that it stands with the government and the people of Saudi Arabia in confronting any attempt to target its security and stability.

“The attempt to target the Holy Mosque of Mecca, Muslims’ Qibla — the apex in which Muslims pray — and purest parts of the earth during those blessed days of Ramadan, shows that these abhorrent terrorist groups abandoned the teachings of Islam,” the ministry’s statement read.

Late Friday, Saudi security forces foiled a terror plot targeting the Grand Mosque in Mecca, near the end of the month of Ramadan. Eleven were injured during the foiling of the operation after one of the suspects blew himself up.

Al-Azhar — the world's oldest Sunni institution of Islamic learning — also denounced the bombing and failed terrorist attack, stressing that it stands by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the fight against terrorism, praising the success of Saudi security forces in foiling this scheme.

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