JEDDAH: Jeddah police arrested an African national who allegedly kidnapped and raped nine Asian children in two Jeddah districts, a local daily reported.

The rapist threatened his victims with harm if they reported the rape. Police received a large number of reports from families complaining their children had been raped. The rapist targeted children aged between 9 and 12. He used to wait near a grocery shop and monitor children playing in the street. The man then took his victims to an isolated street before raping them.

Northern and Al-Safa police center launched a massive manhunt and distributed a description of the rapist. Secret police eventually arrested a number of people who matched the description.

In a lineup, some of the victims managed to identify the rapist. The police center recorded six cases while the Al-Safa center recorded three.