This AFP graphic shows a map locating the city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, where several people were wounded on Nov 11, 2020 in a bomb attack at a World War I commemoration ceremony.
ATHENS/RIYADH/BEIRUT/DUBAI - A blast at a World War I remembrance ceremony in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah wounded several people on Wednesday, France said, urging its citizens living in the kingdom to exercise maximum vigilance following what it called an attack using an explosive device.
The explosion was the second security incident to take place in the Red Sea port city in the last couple of weeks, and the first attack with explosives in years to attempt to hit foreigners in the Saudi Arabia.
France's Foreign Ministry said the attack had taken place at a ceremony in Jeddah involving foreign embassies. A Greek official told Reuters four people had been wounded.
A Greek official said there were "four slightly injured, among them one Greek," while the Mecca governorate said a Greek consulate employee and a Saudi guard were wounded
"There was some sort of a blast at the non-Muslim cemetery in Jeddah. There are four slightly injured, among them one Greek," the Greek official told Reuters, declining to named.
The Mecca governorate said the attack caused two injuries - a Greek consulate employee and a Saudi guard.
"The embassies that were involved in the commemoration ceremony condemn this cowardly attack, which is completely unjustified," reads a French Foreign Ministry statement.
"They call on the Saudi authorities to shed as much light as they can on this attack, and to identify and hunt down the perpetrators."
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A source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters the attack happened early on Wednesday when several diplomatic delegations from the European Union and other countries were present at a Remembrance Day event organized by the French embassy.
This photo shows the outside of a non-Muslim cemetery in the Saudi city of Jeddah, where a bomb struck a World War I remembrance ceremony attended by foreign diplomats on Nov 11, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP)
The French consulate in Jeddah, in a statement seen by Reuters, urged its nationals in Saudi Arabia to exercise "maximum vigilance" following the attack.
"In particular, exercise discretion, and stay away from all gatherings and be cautious when moving around," reads the statement, which was emailed to French residents in Jeddah. According to the statement, only two people had been injured.
Separately in the United Arab Emirates, the French embassy there called on French residents to maintain vigilance, especially in "tourist areas and expatriate communities".
It was the first attack with explosives in years to attempt to hit foreigners in the Saudi Arabia
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The embassies of France, Greece, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States said they had assured Saudi authorities they would support an investigation into the attack and its perpetrators.
Al Ekhbariya state TV said authorities secured the cemetery following the incident, and showed footage of the surrounding streets, adding that traffic was normal in the area and that the situation was stable.
On Oct 29, a Saudi man was arrested after attacking and wounding a security guard at the French consulate there.
It followed the beheading earlier in October near Paris of a French school teacher by a man of Chechen origin who had said he wanted to punish the teacher for showing pupils cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad in a civics lesson.
