MAKKAH, 7 June 2006 — Police in Makkah are looking for arsonists who set three cars on fire in Umm Al-Qura Street in Makkah.
Residents alerted the fire brigade and police about the cars that had been set on fire at approximately 4 a.m. Saturday Four fire brigades quickly arrived to extinguish the fire before it could spread to houses nearby.
An eyewitness said that as he was going for morning prayers he could smell smoke and alerted the emergency services who arrived quickly on the scene. One of the cars was parked inside a neighborhood with lots of narrow lanes, trees and closely lined-up houses.
Security authorities in the city have stepped up vigilance over the past few days following a string of arson incidents involving vehicles.
Police have a number of suspects, but they say that they have been unable to find any clues about the perpetrators’ motives. The fires happened at a time when the police were launching a campaign to tackle crime.
