Around 13 mosques have been burgled in Taif by unknown persons in recent months.

The perpetrators raided the mosques and stole equipment and loudspeakers worth SR100,000. Reacting to the incidents, the local imams said that burglaries were on the increase and that several mosques in different parts of the Taif Governorate were broken in.

Mosques that were burgled include Khalid bin Al-Waleed in Um Alsiba, Aldawa and Tawheed, Alghaniami, Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Ghamidi, Ibn Maisha, Omar bin Al-Khattab in Al-Howayah, Al-Jawharah in Al-Wasit and Prince Sultan in Mathmalah, in addition to a mosque in the neighborhood of Al-Qayem and Al-Da’jani station mosque.

The imams said anonymous persons broke the locks of the mosques either before morning prayers or between mid-day and afternoon prayers because residents of the neighborhoods usually nap at these time.

The imams have called for intensifying investigations to catch the thieves.

Police sources said that they have taken fingerprint samples and that investigations are under way.