RIYADH: A Frenchman has committed suicide by throwing himself off the roof of the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah, Saudi and French officials said Saturday.
“A foreigner threw himself from the roof of the Grand Mosque in Makkah” to the courtyard below, “resulting in his instant death,” Saudi police told the official SPA news agency.
A French foreign ministry official told AFP in Paris that the dead man was French but gave no further details.
The rare act was not the first of its kind to take place in Makkah, the holiest city in Islam — which, like other monotheistic religions, prohibits suicide.
The body was transported to hospital, with an investigation underway “to determine the victim’s identity, what led to the act and how he was able to commit it despite the existence of a metal fence,” SPA said.
Last year, a Saudi man tried to set himself on fire in front of the Kaaba — the square stone building in the center of the mosque compound — but was stopped by security forces.
Every year, millions of Muslim pilgrims from across the world travel to Makkah and Medina, Islam’s second holiest site, also in western Saudi Arabia.
Frenchman commits suicide in Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mosque in Makkah
Frenchman commits suicide in Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mosque in Makkah
- An expatriate commits suicide in the Grand Mosque in Makkah by throwing himself off the roof and onto the circumambulation ground
- A spokesperson said the body was rushed to the hospital as an investigation commenced into the reason behind the death
Saudi Cabinet condemns ‘blatant’ Iranian aggression; affirms Kingdom’s right to respond to attacks
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has warned it reserves the "full right" to respond to Iranian aggression following a series of "blatant and cowardly" strikes targeting the capital and the Eastern Province.
The warning came during a late-night Cabinet session on Tuesday, chaired by Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman via videoconference, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
The Cabinet also "reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s full solidarity with the brotherly countries whose territories were subjected to blatant Iranian aggression," SPA said.
The session followed a dramatic escalation of hostilities, including a direct drone attack on the US Embassy in Riyadh.
Major General Turki al-Malki, spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense, confirmed that while air defenses intercepted multiple threats, the embassy compound sustained a "limited fire and minor material damage."
He further announced that Saudi forces successfully intercepted and destroyed eight additional drones targeting the cities of Riyadh and Al-Kharj early Tuesday morning.
