Saudi Arabia has been one of the countries most affected and harmed by terrorists, who have deemed it a main target for their operations and schemes over the last few years because of its pioneering role in leading Islamic nations, and its regional, international political, economic and religious roles.
The Kingdom’s security forces, which have a successful history of fighting terrorism, have recorded hundreds of attacks over the years.
A chronological review of terror-related events in the Kingdom gives a glimpse of the black history of such organizations and the shift in their ideology.
Leaderships have changed, as have the types of attacks over the past few years, but the common denominator and shared goal have stayed the same: Undermining the Kingdom’s security and stability, and threatening Saudi society with criminal operations that do not differentiate between young and old, Saudi citizens or foreign residents.
Terrorism has always been fought by heroic citizens, be they military or civilian. That made the Kingdom more experienced, strong and cohesive in combating terror. It has shared its experience with the world, and leads the international community in combating terrorists.
Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki said Daesh carried out more than 30 acts of terrorism in the past two years.
The Kingdom has been a victim of terror and extreme ideology since 1995, when a car exploded in Riyadh and targeted a training and development bureau of the Saudi National Guard, killing five Americans and a Filipino, and injuring 60.
In 1996, a truck bomb killed 19 Americans in the Khobar Towers barracks in Dhahran.
Terrorist operations then stopped until 2001, when an explosion in a shop in Al-Khobar killed an American and wounded two Filipinos, a Briton and an American. The terrorist was also killed.
Terrorist attacks again stopped until 2003, when a Briton was shot dead at a traffic light in Riyadh.
In March 2003, an explosion in eastern Riyadh killed Fahd Al-Saidi, who was preparing a manual device that exploded prematurely.
The most prominent attacks during that period were three explosions that shook Al-Hamra neighborhood in eastern Riyadh in June 2003.
In November that year, a truck exploded at an Arab housing compound in Riyadh, killing 17 and injuring 120 of different nationalities.
In April 2004, terrorism hit the Traffic Department building in Al-Washim, killing many innocent people.
The most prominent attacks Saudi Arabia witnessed were suicides staged during Ramadan 29, 1437 (July 4, 2016). Of these, the biggest was the Madinah explosion during Al-Maghreb prayer, in a parking lot belonging to the emergency forces near the Prophet’s Mosque.
Several other attacks took place simultaneously in different locations in the Kingdom, including the US Consulate in Jeddah in the early hours of July 4, followed by a Shiite mosque in Al-Qatif in eastern Saudi Arabia, and in Al-Madinah.
Saudi security forces dismantled a Daesh terrorist network comprising three cluster networks that were preparing to stage four terrorist attacks.
These cells had started their schemes on Feb. 22, 2016, and intended to kill an employee at the Defense Ministry in Riyadh by placing a bomb on his car. That operation was foiled.
Two days later, security forces thwarted an operation that was targeting students training at a General Security facility.
A day later, security forces foiled an attempt by a terrorist to detonate an explosive belt; they raided a hideout where they seized explosives.
A day after later, they thwarted a suicide attack and arrested the would-be terrorist, Saudi Nassar Al-Mousa, who had scouted for a military area belonging to the Saudi National Guard in Al-Ahsa and sent the address to Daesh, which set the date for his operation as Feb. 26, 2016.
The most recently foiled attack was on Jan. 8 this year in Al-Yasmin neighborhood in Al-Riyadh, when security forces said they had killed one of the most dangerous wanted people, Taye Al-Saidi, who was involved in making bombs, including those used at the Prophet’s Mosque and the 2015 Emergency Forces Mosque in Asir.
Two terrorists died after they blew themselves up in Al-Hazarat neighborhood in Jeddah on Saturday.

Source : Arab News