Al-Qaeda group claims Riyadh blast

An extremist group with links to al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for Wednesday's suicide bombing in the Saudi capital of Riyadh that killed at least four people and injured 148.

“The Brigade of the Two Holy Mosques in the Arabian Peninsula has succeeded in blowing up the headquarters of the special security and anti-terrorism forces related to the (Saudi) Interior Ministry,” said a statement published on an Islamist website.

Addressing “tyrants” in Saudi Arabia, the group warned that the attack on the headquarters of the Saudi security service was “only one punishment technique that we are going to inflict on you”.

“These techniques will not stop, through explosions, assassinations and other forms of vengeance,” the group said.

The warning came after Saudi Arabia named 26 terror suspects, mostly Saudis, and posted rewards for information leading to their arrest. The list has since been reduced to 22 after three were killed in clashes with security forces and a fourth turned himself in.