The video, dated January 9, 2016, and published on Monday, showed masked men throwing firebombs at the building compound in Qatif, a predominantly Shia town in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, Press TV reports.
A spokesman for Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry confirmed the attack, saying, “...there was a failed "terrorist" attempt to burn the building with Molotov cocktails.” He added that one of the assailants had been captured.
The video showed the men lobbing firebombs over the protective outer wall of the building compound, with most of the firebombs exploding on the ground inside, setting a nearby tree on fire.
Saudi Arabia on January 2 executed Sheikh Nimr along with 46 other convicts. The move sparked global outrage. A highly respected figure among Saudi Shias, Nimr had been arrested in 2012 and convicted in 2014.
Shia activists in eastern Saudi Arabia condemned the recent attack, saying such moves could embolden the Saudi regime to step up its crackdown on ongoing peaceful protests taking place in Qatif and other towns since Nimr’s execution.
The attack comes nearly one week after a bus carrying workers of Saudi Arabia’s biggest oil company, Saudi Aramco, was set on fire near Qatif.