Saudi arrests 38 after 'sectarian' clashes

Saudi police arrested 38 people in the holy city of Madinah after fighting erupted near Islam's oldest mosque Al-Quba on the Shiite religious holiday of Ashura, Saudi media reported on Saturday.

Several people suffered minor injuries in Thursday's clashes between "groups of youths," the press reports said.

Three security officials were also wounded, the Al-Madina newspaper said.

The Shiite website Rasid.com said the fighting pitted members of Saudi Arabia's Shiite minority against majority Sunnis.

Thursday was the climax of Ashura, a 10-day commemoration of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, one of the key figures of the Shiite faith.

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