Two suspects blow themselves up in Saudi Arabia

Raid by security forces successfully carried out after a shootout with the suspects

Two suspects blew themselves up on Saturday during a firefight with security forces in the Red Sea city of Jeddah in western Saudi Arabia, officials said.

The two men “committed suicide by detonating their explosive belts” during a security operation against a suspected “terrorist” hideout in a southern district of Jeddah, the region’s authorities said on Twitter.

They did not give immediate details about the operation or identify the bombers, but said the raid had been successfully carried out after a shootout with the suspects.

Earlier this month, Saudi security forces shot and killed two suspected terrorist including an explosive belt maker during a police operation in the north of Riyadh.

At the end of October, authorities said they had foiled a plot to bomb a football stadium in Jeddah during a World Cup qualifying match and dismantled two terrorist cells linked to Daesh.

Since late 2014, Daesh has claimed a series of bombings and shootings against Shiites in the Sunni-majority kingdom, as well as against security forces.

Saudi Arabia is a member of the US-led international coalition that has been battling Daesh terrorists in Syria and Iraq.