JEDDAH: Abdullah Al-Qasem Al-Assiri, who owns a house rented by the terrorists at Al-Harazat, told Arab News that his relation with them started two months ago.

He added that he was preparing for his son’s wedding, when a man in his thirties approached him to rent his three-bedroom house in Al-Harazat.

He explained that he was so busy with his son’s wedding plans that he didn’t suspect the man. “I was tricked by his looks, as his beard and balanced look made me think he was a respected man,” he added.

The terrorist viewed the house and returned back to Al-Assiri to ask him to rent it. “I asked him for a six-month rental advance and he accepted to pay, but he tried to avoid signing the contract, saying that he is well-known and a relative of a colleague of mine,” Al-Assiri explained. He said the man told him that the house is for his second wife, but Al-Assiri insisted on a contract being signed, and they went to an office and finalized it.

Al-Assiri said that he was then busy with his son’s wedding, and when he finished he wanted to split the said house into two sections. “The man agreed but asked me to inform him before we do works at the courtyard so his wife isn’t there at the time,” Al-Assiri said, pointing out that he respected this request. “I used to call him and let him know in advance. I never observed anything weird except his wife’s insistences of wearing socks and gloves to cover her whole body.”

Speaking of the incident on Saturday, Al-Assiri explained that he was keen on conducting Al-Fajr prayer in a nearby mosque. He said he stayed longer than usual in the mosque, and when he left the security forces asked him to return to the mosque to protect his life. “A neighbor and myself went to the mosque. I didn’t have my phone with me, so I used the neighbor’s phone to tell my children that I am ok.”

To Al-Assiri’s surprise, photos of the incident, seen on the neighbor’s phone, suggested it was near his house. After the explosion, Al-Assiri learnt that the explosion was in his rented house.

He expressed his appreciation to the security forces who are combating the terrorists.

Al-Harazat is a popular neighborhood located in southeast Jeddah. It is populated by 200,000, mostly medium-income families, as the lands and houses are cheaper. Many single people and expats live in this area, in addition to the daily or monthly rented rest houses.