Terrorism in Saudi Arabia is unleashed by radical Islamic fighters. Their targets include
foreignForeign may refer to:*Foreign corporation, a corporation that can do business outside its jurisdiction*Foreign key, a constraint in a relational database*Foreign language, a language not spoken by the people of a certain place...
civilians—mainly Westerners affiliated with its
oilAn oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and is hydrophobic but soluble in organic solvents. Oils have a high carbon and hydrogen content and are nonpolar substances. The general definition above includes compound classes with otherwise unrelated chemical structures,...
-based
economyAn economic system is the system of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services of an economy. Alternatively, it is the set of principles and techniques by which problems of economics are addressed, such as the economic problem of scarcity through allocation of finite productive...
—as well as Saudi civilians and security forces. Anti-Western attacks have occurred in Saudi Arabia dating back to 1995.
Background
The
US militaryThe United States armed forces are the overall unified military forces of the United States.The history of the United States armed forces dates to 1775, even before the Declaration of Independence marked the establishment of the United States...
sent forces to Saudi Arabia in 1990 after
Saddam HusseinSaddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the President of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
invaded
KuwaitThe State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab emirate bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south and Iraq to the north and west. The greatest distance from north to south is 200 km and from east to west 170 km . The name is a diminutive of an Arabic word meaning "fortress built near water." It has a...
. After the US-led coalition won the 1991 Persian Gulf War, it moved most of its forces from Saudi Arabia to bases in Iraq but several thousand, mostly associated with
Operation Southern WatchOperation Southern Watch was an operation conducted by Joint Task Force Southwest Asia with the mission of monitoring and controlling airspace south of the 32nd Parallel in Iraq, following the 1991 Gulf War until the 2003 invasion of Iraq.-Summary:Operation Southern Watch began on August 27, 1992...
, remained. Since Saudi Arabia houses the holiest sites in
IslamIslam Islam Islam ( al-’islām,
[There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...]
—
MeccaMecca , sometimes spelled Makkah is the holiest meeting site of the Islamic religion. The city is modern, cosmopolitan and whilst being closed to non-Muslims is nonetheless ethnically diverse.Islamic tradition attributes the beginning of Mecca to Ishmael's descendants...
(where the prophet Muhammed was born) and
MedinaMedina is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province...
(where he is buried) — many Muslims were upset at the U.S. presence. It is believed this is one of, if not the main reason
Osama bin LadenOsama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden is a member of the prominent Saudi bin Laden family and one of the founders of the terrorist organization al-Qaeda, best known for the September 11 attacks on the United States and its associations with numerous other mass-casualty attacks against...
called for
jihadJihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād is a noun meaning "struggle." Jihad appears frequently in the Qur'an and common usage as the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of Allah "...
against the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Attacks against American forces and Westerners in the country were few until 1995.
After the
September 11, 2001 attacksThe September 11 attacks were a series of coordinated suicide attacks by Al-Qaeda upon the United States on September 11, 2001. On that morning, 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners...
, there was continued world pressure for the Saudi government to crack down on the radical
imamAn imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the leader of a mosque and the community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads the prayer during Islamic gatherings. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have an Islamic question...
s preaching anti-American rhetoric in Saudi
mosqueA mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. Muslims often refer to the mosque by its Arabic name, masjid, —...
s. These calls grew as it turned out that 15 of the 19 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. Saudi officials pledged to make efforts to crack down on these imams, yet preaching continued.
1995
November 13, 1995 - The U.S. Office of the Program Manager, Saudi Arabian National Guard Modernization Program was attacked by a car bomb in a parking lot in Riyadh. Six killed, including five Americans, and 60 injured. The "Tigers of the Gulf," "Islamist Movement for Change," and "Fighting Advocates of God" claimed responsibility. Saudi authorities arrested and executed the perpetrators.
1996
June 25, 1996 - A truck containing about 5000 pounds of explosives targeted against US military dormitory in Khobar, resulting in 19 dead and about 500 wounded. (see
Khobar Towers bombingThe Khobar Towers bombing was a terrorist attack on part of a housing complex in the city of Khobar, Saudi Arabia, located near the national oil company headquarters of Dhahran...
)
2000
On November 17, in central Riyadh at the junction of Oruba/Olaya road, a car bomb killed British national Christopher Rodway and injured his wife Jane. The bomb was placed underneath his vehicle and detonated as it approached a traffic signal.
The following week on November 22, in Riyadh close to the
RSAFThe acronym RSAF may refer to:*Republic of Singapore Air Force*Royal Saudi Air Force*Royal Small Arms Factory...
HQ, a car bomb detonated on a vehicle driven by British national Mark Payne. Although the driver and his three passengers were injured, all survived the attack.
Less than one month later on December 15 in Al Khobar, a small
IEDAn improvised explosive device is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action...
in a juice carton left on the vehicle of British national David Brown exploded as he attempted to remove it. Brown survived but lost his sight and part of his right hand.
2001
On January 10, a small bomb exploded outside the Euromarche supermarket in Riyadh. There were no casualties.
A bomb placed in a waste bin outside the Jarir bookstore on Oleya Road in central Riyadh on March 15 injured British national Ron Jones, American Charles Bayer and a Canadian national. Jones was taken from hospital and arrested by Saudi authorities. During detention, Jones was subjected to torture to extract a 'confession' before being released without charge after 67 days
On May 3, an American doctor Gary Hatch received injuries to his face and hands after opening a parcel bomb in his office in Al Khobar.
On the eve of the U.S. strike on Afghanistan on October 6, a pedestrian suicide bomber killed an American, Michael Gerard, outside a shopping center in Al Khobar. One Briton and two Filipinos were injured in the attack.
U.K. citizen involvement
Publicly, the Saudi authorities blamed the car bombing campaign on a small group of western expatriates, mainly British, who they claimed were fighting a turf war over the illegal distribution of alcohol. All of those involved in the 'alcohol trade' were arrested and detained. Despite the arrests, the attacks on western nationals continued.
Early in 2001, video taped 'confessions' by
William SampsonWilliam Sampson, born , is a dual British and Canadian national who was arrested in Saudi Arabia on December 17, 2000 on a variety of charges including terrorism, espionage and murder...
and
Sandy MitchellSandy Mitchell was one of seven men incarcerated in Saudi Arabia for the bombing death of Christopher Rodway, a British National living in Riyadh. While in prison, he alleges he was tortured and forced to make a televised confession in which he detailed the methods and as to which he and his fellow...
were aired on Saudi state TV channels. Apart from the confessions, which both men later retracted, there was no evidence to link any of the western detainees to the bombing campaign. Sampson and Mitchell were later sentenced to death but were eventually released (but not pardoned) along with several other British detainees in August 2003 in a prisoner exchange deal brokered by the UK and US for Saudi detainees from
Guantanamo BayGuantanomo Bay is a detainment facility located in Cuba. It has been the target of numerous protests and media attacks due to its allegedly unorthodox and cruel treatment of captives...
. Both men maintain their innocence, citing torture was used to extract 'confessions.' Court action taken in the UK by the men since their release failed after the UK High Court supported Saudi Arabia's defense under the
State Immunity Act 1978The State Immunity Act 1978 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which was passed to implement the European Convention on State Immunity of 1972 into British law...
.
In their interrogation of suspects and in charges brought against detainees, the Saudi
MabahithThe Mabahith is the secret police agency of the Ministry of Interior in Saudi Arabia....
were wholly disinterested in alcohol trading and did not charge the men with alcohol offenses. Those charged with the murders were accused of carrying out the attacks on behalf of MI6, the British Secret Intelligence Service. Diplomats from the British Embassy in Riyadh were investigated by
Scotland YardNew Scotland Yard is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service, responsible for law enforcement within Greater London, excluding the City district, which is covered by the City of London Police....
and cleared of any involvement. One of those investigated was Deputy Head of Mission in Riyadh, Simon McDonald, who was later appointed British Ambassador to Israel. Although British Embassy officials in Riyadh were aware of the continuing abuse of detainees, they failed to secure the support of the
Foreign and Commonwealth OfficeThe Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO, is the British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
in London in pushing hard for their release.
2002
In May, a
SudanSudan is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest country in Africa and in the Arab World, and tenth largest in the world by area...
ese national attempted to shoot down a U.S. fighter jet taking off from the
Prince Sultan Air BasePrince Sultan Air Base is an air base located at Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia.There was formerly a large United States presence there during Operations Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. The U.S. presence was predominantly that of multiple U.S. Air Force flying units, augmented by a...
with an SA-7 missile. The attempt failed, and in June the Saudis arrested several suspects.
A month later on June 20, in the Riyadh suburb of Al Nakheel, a British national, Simon Veness, a 35 year old bank employee, was killed after a bomb placed underneath his vehicle exploded a few seconds after he set off for work.
On June 29, a car bomb placed on the vehicle of an American couple in Riyadh was disarmed by Saudi authorities.
On September 29, a car bomb killed German national Max Graf in central Riyadh.
2003
On February 20, Robert Dent, an employee for
BAE SystemsBAE Systems plc is a British defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in Farnborough, Hampshire, England, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is the world's second-largest defence contractor and the largest in Europe...
was shot to death in his car while waiting at a traffic signal in the Granada district of Riyadh.
A Saudi was killed on March 18 in an explosion at a villa in the Al Jazira district of Riyadh where police uncovered a cache of arms and explosives. It is believed that he was manufacturing a bomb at the time.
At a house in the same district of Riyadh on May 6, police were involved in a shootout with suspected militants. All nineteen suspects escaped and police unearthed another large cache of arms and explosives.
The insurgency took a giant leap forward with the
Riyadh Compound BombingsThe Riyadh compound bombings took place on May 12, 2003, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Altogether, some 35 people were killed, and over 160 wounded...
; on May 12, attackers drove three car bombs into residential compounds housing Westerners and others, killing 26 people. Nine bombers also died. The compound bombings led to a harsh crackdown against militants by the Saudi government who until this point had been in denial about the terrorist threat within the Kingdom. Police and National Guard troops were involved in hundreds of raids, seizing weapons and equipment used by the militants. Throughout most of 2003, these helped in keeping the anti-foreigner attacks down.
On November 8, hours after the U.S. embassy issued a warning about attacks in Saudi Arabia, a truck bomb struck the al-Mohaya residential compound in Riyadh, killing 17 workers and injured more than 100. Most of the victims were Muslims, prompting outcry among Saudi citizens.
2004
After the Muhaya bombing, militants either halted or were prevented from committing their attacks. Security forces continued their raids and arrests. On April 21, a car bomb struck a building originally used by the Saudi police, killing five and injuring 148. This marked the start of a new campaign by the militants.
In May, the
2004 Yanbu attackThe 2004 Yanbu attack was an attack by gunmen against Westerners on May 1, 2004, in Yanbu' al Bahr, Saudi Arabia.At least four militants used security passes to access a local petrochemical plant. Once on the grounds of the facility, they stormed the offices of the Texas-based ABB Lummus and killed...
left six Westerners and a Saudi dead.
On May 22,
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
chef Hermann Dengl was shot to death in Riyadh.
On May 29, the militants staged one of their most complex attacks, known as the
29 May 2004 Al-Khobar massacresIn the 29 May 2004 Al-Khobar massacres in Saudi Arabia, 17 terrorists attacked two oil industry installations, the building and the , and a foreign workers' housing complex, the , in the Gulf city of Khobar, Saudi Arabia. 41 hostages were freed, 25 were injured and 22 were killed, among them 19...
. Gunmen scaled a fence of the Oasis compound, which houses the employees of foreign oil companies, and took dozens hostage. They are said to have separated
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who Christians believe was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, and the Son of God.The term "Christian" is also used adjectivally to...
s and Muslims and shot the Christians. Of those killed, 19 were foreign civilians; the rest were Saudis. The gunmen escaped.
On June 6, gunmen shot and killed an Irish cameraman of the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
,
Simon CumbersSimon Peter Cumbers was an Irish-born freelance journalist working for the BBC who was murdered by apparent Al Qaeda sympathisers while filming one of the terrorist group's safehouse in Saudi Arabia.-Career:...
, and also wounded reporter
Frank GardnerFrank Rolleston Gardner OBE is a British journalist and correspondent. He is currently the BBC's Security Correspondent. He was appointed an OBE in 2005 for his services to journalism.-Background:...
.
On June 8, an American member of Vinnell Corp. was shot in his Riyadh
villaA villa was originally an upper-class country house, though since its origins in Roman times the idea and function of a villa has evolved considerably. After the fall of the Republic, a villa became a small, fortified farming compound, gradually re-evolving through the Middle Ages into luxurious,...
.
Another American expatriate, Kenneth Scroggs, was shot to death by two gunmen outside his home in Riyadh on June 13, and an American working for
Lockheed MartinLockheed Martin is a multinational aerospace manufacturer, global security and advanced technology company formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed with Martin Marietta. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area. Lockheed Martin employs 146,000 people...
, Paul Marshall Johnson, was kidnapped at a fake police checkpoint in Riyadh.
On June 18, Johnson was reported beheaded in a
videoVideo is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.-History:...
released to the news media. On the same day, Saudi security forces killed Abdul Aziz al-Muqrin, at that time the country's most wanted man.
On August 3, Anthony Higgins, an
IrishIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
expatriate, was shot and killed at his desk at the Saudi-owned Rocky for Trade and Construction company, in the Al Rawda district of Riyadh. The attackers' use of silencers on the pistols led investigators to believe it was an act of premeditated murder and not simply an act terrorism aimed indiscriminately at the expatriate community. Tony, who had worked in the Kingdom for almost 25 years, had been an active member of Saudi Arabia's underground church and although unconfirmed, most who knew him, believe he was gunned down for his impassioned but indiscreet efforts to spread the Christian faith within Saudi Arabia.
On September 15, Edward Muirhead-Smith, a British man working for
MarconiMarconi may refer to:people*Guglielmo Marconi, Italian-born radio pioneer*David Marconi, American screenwriter*Enrico Marconi, also known as Henryk Marconi, architect*Leandro Marconi, architect, son of Enrico Marconibusinesses...
, was shot to death in his car outside a supermarket in Riyadh.
On September 26,
FrenchmanFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
Laurent Barbot, an employee of a defense electronics firm, was shot to death in his car in
JeddahJeddah is a Saudi Arabian city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh...
.
On December 6, militants staged perhaps their most brazen attack, the storming of the American consulate in Jeddah. They breached the compound's outer wall and began shooting, though they did not enter the consulate itself. A
YemenYemen , officially the Republic of Yemen is a country located on the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia...
i, a
SudanSudan is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest country in Africa and in the Arab World, and tenth largest in the world by area...
ese, a
FilipinoThe Philippines officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
, a
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
i and a
Sri LankaSri Lanka , officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka , is an island country in South Asia, located about off the southern coast of India...
n—all employees of the consulate—were killed, and about ten others were wounded. All of the gunmen were killed.
On December 29, suicide car bombs exploded outside of the Saudi Interior Ministry and the
Special Emergency ForceThe Emergency Force is a special operations counter-terrorism unit of the Saudi Arabian General Security. Similar units include the FBI Hostage Rescue Team and the French GIGN. The SEFC was established in 1972; its main job was to control riots and demonstration alongside assisting other police...
training center, killing a passerby and wounding several others. Though damage to each building was incurred, the attacks did not result in large-scale casualties, and was the last significant attack of the insurgency.
2005
Saudi security forces made a great deal of successes against insurgents. Many militants were captured and several killed, many by American forces in
IraqIraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , also known as Mesopotamia, is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.Iraq shares borders with Jordan to the west, Syria...
. One of these,
Saleh al-OufiBorn in al-Hindiya, the Saudi Saleh Muhammad 'Awadullah al-'Alawi al-'Oufi was a member of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula , and became the leader of that group when Abdel Aziz al-Muqrin was killed in June 2004...
, who was killed on August 18.
On December 28, Saudi security services killed Abdul Rahman Al-Suwailemi and Abdul Rahman ibn Salen Al-Miteb in separate incidents. In the morning, Al-Miteb was stopped by two policemen and opened fire, killing both. This set off a running firefight, during which three other policemen were killed. Automatic weapons, grenades, forged documents, and almost half a million riyals in cash were also seized.
Despite these successes, foreign governments still have travel warnings in effect for Saudi Arabia.
2006
While attacks by militants have decreased dramatically since late 2004, violent incidents still occasionally occur. On February 24, two explosive-laden cars tried to enter the
AbqaiqBqaiq is a Saudi Aramco camp in the interior of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, located in the desert 60 km southwest of the Dhahran-Dammam-Khobar metropolitan area. The camp was built in the 1940s by ARAMCO...
oil plant, the largest such facility in the world and producer of 60% of Saudi Arabian oil. Both cars exploded when fired upon by guards, killing the two bombers and two guards. A successful attack could have seriously crippled oil production.
In June, six militants and a policeman were killed in a gun battle in Riyadh.
2007
On February 4, Saudi security forces arrested ten people suspected of fundraising for "suspicious groups" outside of Saudi Arabia that engage in terrorism. Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki said seven Saudi citizens and one foreign resident were arrested in
JeddahJeddah is a Saudi Arabian city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh...
while two Saudi citizens were arrested in Medinah. A-Turki went on to say, "We know of the group's activity as a whole but we also need to define the role of each of the arrested members." The Interior Ministry issued a statement saying, "Security forces, in the framework of their efforts to fight terrorism and its funding have arrested a group of suspects believed to be responsible for collecting donations illegally and smuggling the money to suspicious groups that use it in deceiving the sons of this nation and dragging them to disturbed areas."
In March, lawyers for some of the accused defended their clients by stating they were simply peaceful reformists. A petition was delivered to King Abdullah asking that he consider a constitutional monarchy, and was signed by 100 prominent business leaders and academics.
On February 26, suspected militants attacked a group of nine
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
citizens who were returning from the historical site of Madain Saleh in the northwest of Saudi Arabia. The group, traveling in three vehicles had been looking for remnants of the Hejaz railway track and had apparently stopped for a rest approx 90km north of Madinah when three assailants traveling in a 4x4 vehicle stopped then singled out and shot all four males in the group. Two died at the scene, a third en route to hospital and the fourth, a sixteen year old boy, died the following day after undergoing surgery to remove a bullet from his lung. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. On March 7, authorities announced the arrest of several suspects and stated that they were hunting two named individuals in connection with the attack.
On April 6, security forces were involved in a gunbattle with militants at a property 20km outside Madinah. One of the militants, a Saudi national named as Waleed Ibn Mutlaq Al Radadi, was killed in the shootout. One police officer was also killed and several were injured. Al Radadi had appeared on a list of 36 most-wanted terrorists in 2005. An Interior Ministry spokesman said that the shootout was linked to an investigation into the killings of the French expatriates in February.
On April 19, Saudi authorities announced the arrest of eight people who had allegedly aided and abetted in the killings of the French expatriates in February. They also stated that Al Radadi had been the mastermind behind the killings.
On April 27, the Saudi Interior Ministry announced the arrest of 172 terrorist suspects in a series of raids on seven cells in the Kingdom in an operation lasting several months. The largest of the cells numbered 61 members. Unprecedented amounts of explosives and weapons of various types where uncovered after being buried in the desert. Also recovered was over $US5 million in cash. Some of the cells had trained as pilots and planned attacks on military and oil installations as well as the assassinations of high profile individuals. Most of the suspects were said to be Saudi nationals.
On November 28, security forces arrested 208 terrorist suspects across the country.
2008
On June 25, the Saudi Interior Ministry announced the arrest of 701 militants since the start of the year, however 181 were later released because there was no proof linking them to the terror network.
2009
On 28 August, A suicide bomber blew himself up in Jeddah during a Ramadan gathering that included Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, head of the security services. It was the first attempt on the life of a royal since the murder of
King Faisal*Abdullah*Muhammad*Sara*Luluwa*Khalid*Saud*Sa'd*Abd al-Rahman*Bandar*Latifa*Munira*al-Jauhara*al-Anud*Misha'il*Fahda*Nura*Turki*Haifa...
in in 1975. The prince was treated at a hospital and released.