News Digest

IS claims suicide bombing on Shiite mosque in Saudi, 4 dead

A suicide bomber disguised as a woman blew himself up in the parking lot of a Shiite mosque during Friday prayers, killing four people in the second such attack in as many weeks claimed by the Islamic State group. The latest attack and a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque that killed 21 people last Friday appeared aimed at fanning sectarianism and destabilizing the kingdom. Both attacks took place in the oil-rich east, which has a sizable Shiite community that has long complained of discrimination. The Islamic State group views Shiites as apostates deserving of death and also seeks the overthrow of the Saudi monarchy, which it considers corrupt and illegitimate.

I think one dangerous result of these increased bombings is the Shiites’ loss of faith in the security services, potential formation of local self-protection units or vigilantism.

Frederic Wehrey, a Gulf analyst at the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told AFP

Saudi Arabia had vowed to crack down on the extremists after last week’s bombing, and authorities appeared keen to claim credit for preventing the bomber from entering the Imam Hussein mosque, the only Shiite mosque in the port city of Dammam. The state-run Saudi Press Agency said security guards halted a car in the parking lot and that the bomber detonated his explosives as they approached. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was carried out by its “Najd Province,” referring to a region in the central Arabian Peninsula.