The blasts came only days after US warnings of imminent attacks in the kingdom, calling on non-essential diplomatic staff and family members to leave the country. In the past week leading up to the explosion, Saudi security forces discovered five cars packed with explosives in the capital. Recent weeks have also seen repeated gun battles between militants and security forces in and outside Riyadh. In the most recent clash in the capital, five police officers were killed.

The Al-Haramain Brigades, whose name refers to Islam's two holiest sites in the cities of Mecca and Medina, have also claimed responsibility for an attack against a security official in Riyadh last December, in which a car bomb exploded but no casualties were reported.