Insurgency in Saudi Arabia
From dKosopedia
The Insurgency in Saudi Arabia is an armed conflict in Saudi Arabia between radical Sunni Muslim fighters, believed to be associated with al-Qaeda, against the Saudi monarchy. Their targets include foreign civilians, mainly Westerners, whose absence from Saudi Arabia would hurt their oil-based economy. Saudi civilians and Saudi security forces have also been targets. Apparently, the aim of the fighters is to expel foreigners and topple the monarchy.
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Background
The US military sent forces to Saudi Arabia in 1990 after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. After the US won the 1991 Gulf War, it moved its forces from Saudi Arabia to bases in Iraq. Saudi Arabia being the most holy site in Islam—home to Mecca (where the prophet Muhammed was born) and Medina (where he spent much of his time) — many Muslims were upset at the former 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.
Attacks against American forces and Westerners in the country were few until 1995. On November 13 of that year, a car bomb at an American office for training the Saudi Arabian National Guard exploded and killed five Americans and two Indians. Saudi officials arrested several men connected to this attack and beheaded them.
On June 25, 1996, a truck bomb exploded at the Khobar Towers in Khobar, killing 19 American servicemen and wounding hundreds. According to the US State Department, the Saudi wing of Hezbollah carried out this attack.
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.
The insurgency
2003
The insurgency is generally considered to have begun on May 12, 2003, with the Riyadh Compound Bombings. 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. 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, 2003, hours after the U.S. embassy issued a warning about attacks in Saudi Arabia, a truck bomb hit a 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, 2004, a car bomb hit a building once 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 Bengler was shot and killed 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. 19 of those killed were foreign civilians; the rest were Saudis. The gunmen escaped.
On June 6, gunmen shot and killed an Irish cameraman for the BBC, Simon Cumbers. They also wounded reporter Frank Gardner. On June 8, an American member of Vinnel Corp. was shot in his Riyadh villa. Another American expatriate, Kenneth Scroggs, was killed 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 4, Tony Christopher, an Irish expatriate, was shot and killed at his desk in Riyadh. Edward Smith, a British man working for Marconi, was shot and killed at a supermarket in Riyadh on September 15. Frenchman Laurent Barbot, an employee of a defense electronics firm, was shot and killed in his car in Jeddah on September 26.
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 the gunmen were killed.
Suicide car bombs exploded outside the Saudi Interior Ministry and the Special Emergency Force training center December 29, 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
In 2005, Saudi security forces made a great deal of successes against the insurgents. Many militants were captured and several killed, including several by American forces in Iraq. One of these, Saleh al-Oufi, was described as the al-Qaeda chief in the kingdom, and 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 a half 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 2006, 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. [1]
In June, six militants and a policeman were killed in a gunbattle in Riyadh. [2]
2007
On 4 February 2007 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."<ref name=TURKI>10 held for funding terrorism Arab News</ref>
Resources
Sources
- This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Insurgency in Saudi Arabia"
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