LOC18:15
15:15 GMT
RIYADH, May 25 (KUNA) -- The Saudi Cabinet on Monday strongly condemned an attack that targeted a mosque east of the Kingdom on Friday, reiterating Riyadh's unyielding position against terrorism.
Some 22 people were killed and scores wounded when a Saudi who belonged to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) detonated an explosive belt at a mosque packed with worshippers in the eastern province of Al-Qatif.
"The enormity of the crime of the heinous terrorist attack targeted a mosque in Qudayh village is contrary to Islamic and human values," King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud told the meeting which he chaired.
He emphasized that the Kingdom's efforts "will never cease at any time to fight the deviant thought, confront the terrorists and wipe out their hotbeds."
"Every participant, planner, supporter, collaborator, or sympathizer with this crime shall be held accountable, tried and punished," King Salman noted.
The Cabinet condemned "the heinous crime that targeted the mosque and resulted in bloodshed and killing of innocents," considering it "an unjust terrorist aggression."
In the meantime, it commended efforts by the security authorities that rapidly detected the perpetrator and arrested most members of the terrorist cell to which he belongs, and which received directives from the ISIL terrorist organization.
The meeting reaffirmed the "Kingdom's firm positions on terrorism and its determination to pursue terrorists and those who stand behind them and everyone involved whether in inciting, financing or covering up."
Meanwhile, the Cabinet expressed appreciation, on the 34th anniversary of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), to the bloc's achievements in various fields.
It also lauded the Riyadh Declaration and the final statement of the Riyadh conference for saving Yemen and building the Federal State, recently held in the Saudi capital (end)
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