The United Arab Emirates yesterday strongly condemned the "ugly terrorist crime" that killed several people in a mosque in the Asir province of Saudi Arabia.

In a statement, H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE Foreign Minister, said that he condemned in the strongest possible words "the ugly terrorist crime which targeted members of the special emergency services in the Asir province of Saudi Arabia when they were praying as a group the noon (dhuhr) prayers in their mosque."

The crime led to the deaths of ten members of the special emergency services as well as three people working in the mosque, with nine others being injured.

"The UAE expresses its complete and utter solidarity with brotherly Saudi Arabia in confronting terrorism in all its forms," Sheikh Abdullah said. "The UAE stands shoulder to shoulder with the Saudi leadership in whatever draconian steps or measures they may take to eradicate terrorism and to preserve the kingdom, its stability and security, which is the cornerstone of the security and stability of the region," he added.

"This brutal and reprehensible crime reflects the ugly face of these extremist terrorist groups," he said, adding that "these terrorist crimes will only reinforce our determination to confront terrorism, to defeat it and to eradicate it." Sheikh Abdullah went on to say, "it is important to emphasise the need for the international community to intensify efforts at all levels to confront these cowardly acts, as well as the misled and aberrant thinking of those who take no account of human life or of places of worship."

He concluded by expressing the sincere condolences of the United Arab Emirates to Saudi Arabia, its Government and people and to the families of the martyrs, offering his best wishes for the rapid recovery of the injured and praying to God that the kingdom would be preserved from harm.