JEDDAH: A bomb on Wednesday struck a World War I commemoration attended by European diplomats in the Saudi city of Jeddah, France said, leaving several people wounded amid Muslim anger over French cartoons.
The attack at a non-Muslim cemetery is the second assault in the kingdom in less than a month, as French President Emmanuel Macron has sought to assuage anger across Muslim nations over satirical cartoons.
"The annual ceremony commemorating the end of World War I at the non-Muslim cemetery in Jeddah, attended by several consulates, including that of France, was the target of an IED [improvised explosive device] attack this morning, which injured several people," France's foreign ministry said.
"France strongly condemns this cowardly, unjustifiable attack." There was no immediate comment from Saudi authorities. Roads leading up to the cemetery in central Jeddah were blocked by Saudi traffic police, according to an AFP photographer at the scene.
The French embassy in Riyadh has urged its nationals in Saudi Arabia to exercise "extreme vigilance".
Several countries are marking the 102nd anniversary of the armistice signed by Germany and Allied countries to end the war.—AFP
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