Saudi police arrested 38 people in the holy city of Medina after violent clashes broke out near Islam's oldest mosque, Al-Quba, while the minority Shi'ite community marked their most important religious ceremony.
According to media reports, several people - including three security officials - were injured in clashes on December 16.
A Shi'ite news website, Rasid, reported that hundreds of Sunnis attacked Shi'a commemorating the Ashura ceremony, which marks the death of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Hussein, in 680.
compiled from agency reports