Terrorism in Saudi Arabia

Terrorism in Saudi Arabia is unleashed by radical Islamic fighters, believed to be associated with al-Qaeda. Their targets include foreign civilians—mainly Westerners affiliated with its oil-based economy—as well as Saudi civilians and security forces. Anti-Western attacks have occurred in Saudi Arabia dating back to 1995.

Background

The US military sent forces to Saudi Arabia in 1990 after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. After the US-led coalition won the 1991 Gulf War, it moved most of its forces from Saudi Arabia to bases in Iraq but several thousand, mostly associated with Operation Southern Watch, remained. Since Saudi Arabia houses the holiest sites in Islam — Mecca (where the prophet Muhammed was born) and Medina (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 Laden called for jihad against the United States. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2984547.stm] Attacks against American forces and Westerners in the country were few until 1995.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, there was continued world pressure for the Saudi government to crack down on the radical imams preaching anti-American rhetoric in Saudi mosques. 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.

Timeline

1995

November 13, 1995 - The U.S. Office of the Personnel Manager, Saudi Arabian National Guard 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. [http://www.saudi-us-relations.org/Fact_Sheets/TimelineTerrorism.html]

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 bombing)

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 RSAF 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 IED 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 Sampson and Sandy Mitchell 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 Bay. 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 1978.

In their interrogation of suspects and in charges brought against detainees, the Saudi Maba'ith 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 Yard 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 Office in London in pushing hard for their release.

2002

In May, a Sudanese national attempted to shoot down a U.S. fighter jet taking off from the Prince Sultan Air Base with an SA-7 missile. The attempt failed, and in June the Saudis arrested several suspects. [http://www.saag.org/papers6/paper557.html]

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 Systems 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 Bombings; 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 and other people in the world who had normally avoided condemning al-Qaeda attacks.

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 attack left six Westerners and a Saudi dead.

On May 22, German 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 massacres. 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 Christians 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 BBC, Simon Cumbers, and also wounded reporter Frank Gardner.

On June 8, an American member of Vinnell Corp. was shot in his Riyadh villa.

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 Martin, Paul Marshall Johnson, was kidnapped at a fake police checkpoint in Riyadh.

On June 18, Johnson was reported beheaded in a video 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. Officials said that his killing was a major blow to al-Qaeda's forces in the kingdom; however, foreigners were still killed in the country.

On August 3, Anthony Higgins, an Irish 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 Marconi, was shot to death in his car outside a supermarket in Riyadh.

On September 26, Frenchman Laurent Barbot, an employee of a defense electronics firm, was shot to death in his car in Jeddah.

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 Yemeni, a Sudanese, a Filipino, a Pakistani and a Sri Lankan—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 Force 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 Iraq. One of these, Saleh al-Oufi, who was killed on August 18, was described as the al-Qaeda chief in the kingdom.

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 Abqaiq 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. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4747488.stm]

In June, six militants and a policeman were killed in a gun battle in Riyadh. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5108594.stm]

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 Jeddah 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." [http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=91749&d=4&m=2&y=2007 10 held for funding terrorism] Arab News]

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 French 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.

References