Two Saudis lauded as heroes for stopping ISIS bomber from entering mosque

Two young Saudi men who were killed while allegedly stopping an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) suicide bomber from entering a mosque in Saudi Arabia are being lauded as heroes for their bravery, UK daily The Independent reported.

Mohammaed Hassan Ali bin Isa and Abdul-Jalil al-Arbash died on Friday, when the suicide bomber blew himself up after being denied entrance into the Imam Hussein mosque in Dammam by the two friends.

According to eyewitnesses, the suicide bomber was disguised as a women and tried to enter the mosque through a closed female entrance before trying to enter through the main gate where the victims were standing.

A local man told Middle East Eye: “They saved a lot of lives by stopping the bomber from getting inside the mosque.”

“They are both heroes,” he added.

25-year-old Abdul-Jalil had recently returned from studying at a university in the U.S. and was in the process of getting married.

According to the Associated Press, Mohammed Idris, an eyewitness, said that Mohammed and Abdul-Jalil “chased the bomber away and died when he detonated the explosives in the mosque car park.”

He said: “They chased the suicide bomber when he tried to enter the women’s section of the mosque in the south entrance.”

Kowther al-Arbash, one of the victim’s mothers, is a prominent writer for Saudi newspaper al-Jazira, Middle East Eye reported.

People posted pictures on social media of the two friends, calling them heroes and “martyrs.”

A video was also published on YouTube showing the fathers of both men expressing gratitude for their son’s heroism.