Saudi twin brothers 'stabbed mother to death after she tried to stop them joining Isis group'

Haila al-Oraini reportedly objected to her sons joining up with jihadist group

The twins were arrested trying to flee over the border into Yemen (file photo) (Getty)

Twin brothers in Saudi Arabia allegedly killed their mother by stabbing her repeatedly after she attempted to stop them joining Isis.

The country’s interior ministry said Khaled and Saleh al-Oraini, both 20, had been arrested on suspicion of stabbing their 67-year-old mother, Haila, in the family home in capital Riyadh.

They also stand accused of attacking their 73-year-old father and 22-year-brother, who both remain in hospital in critical condition.

Haila al-Oraini died of her injuries at the scene. She had objected to her sons joining jihadists in Syria.

The brothers were arrested while trying to flee across the border into Yemen, and it is not known where they are being held at present.

Interior ministry spokesman General Mansour al-Turki declined to give out many details about the case, other than to confirm the twins were under investigation.

“The only thing [we have established] is that they follow Takfiri ideology,” he told Reuters.

Takfiri ideology is a term used by the Saudi authorities to refer to followers of Isis, but more literally connotes a Sunni Muslim who accuses another Muslim of apostasy.

The case has provoked widespread debate in Saudi Arabia about the nature of Islamic teachings, and the influence of fatwas in centuries-old religious texts.

Saudi writer and commentator Mohammad Ali al-Mahmoud said of the case: “Had this come from drug addicts or ignorant youth, it would not have been unusual. The shock is that it came from a pair of religious children acting in the name of Islam.

“What is needed is to shake the confidence in these teachings that are being imported from our distant past.”

It is said to be the fifth killing of family members by suspected militants in Saudi Arabia since July last year.

The al-Oraini investigation continues, with no future date so far set for a trial.

In January, an Isis militant was accused of publicly executing his own mother in the Syrian city of Raqqa after accusing her of apostasy.