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27 Jun, 2014

Saudi forces on high alert

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SPA, the state-run news agency, reports King Abdullah has ordered that “all necessary measures” be taken to protect Saudi Arabia against terror threats:

Anticipating (that) the terrorist organizations or others might carry out actions that might disturb the security of the homeland, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has ordered taking all necessary measures to protect the gains of the homeland and its territories in addition to the security and stability of the Saudi people.

A Saudi official, who is not authorized to speak with the media, says:

Saudi Arabia shares a long border with Iraq and the government is aware that ISIS is very close to Iraq’s border with Jordan, and is also aware ISIS has been very public about its intention to attempt to attack Saudi Arabia.

30 Aug, 2014

‘Could reach America in two months’

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King Abdullah says terrorists could reach America within months if left unchecked:

If neglected, I am certain that after a month they will reach Europe and, after another month, America. Terror knows no borders and its danger could affect several countries outside the Middle East.

He adds that ISIS’s beliefs are against Islam and must be opposed:

I do ask you to transmit this message to your leaders: Fight terrorism with force, reason and speed. These terrorists do not know the name of humanity, and you have witnessed them severing heads and giving them to children to walk with in the street.

9 Sep, 2014

Saudi Arabia to hold terror summit Sept. 11

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Saudi Arabia will host a summit to discuss the regional threat of terrorism on Sept. 11, inviting representatives from the U.S., Egypt, Turkey, Jordan and member states of the six-country Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). A statement from the Kingdom:

The meeting will tackle the issue of terrorism in the region and the extremist organizations that stand behind it and the means of addressing it.

14 Sep, 2014

Arab nations offer to join strikes

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Arab states believed to include the UAE and Saudi Arabia offer to help attack ISIS targets in Syria and Iraq. U.S. official:

There have been offers both to Centcom and to the Iraqis of Arab countries taking more aggressive kinetic action.

U.S. officials decline to say which countries have offered help, but one appears to be the UAE. A senior western official says Saudi Arabia is prepared to act in a frontline role:

There is a very real possibility that we could have the Saudi air force bombing targets inside Syria. That is a remarkable development, and something the U.S. would be very pleased to see.

Another senior official says Saudi Arabia is far more willing to play an open role in the campaign against ISIS than during the 1991 Gulf war and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In those campaigns it allowed military bases to be used by U.S. forces but did not commit its own forces, but Riyadh now sees ISIS as a direct threat:

They actually see themselves as the real target. “They know that they have to step up, and they are ready to, from what we can see.

28 Apr, 2015

Planned U.S. Embassy attack

Makes Statement0 Comments

Saudi Arabia says it has arrested a total of 93 people with ties to the ISIS in recent months, foiling their plans to carry out multiple terrorist attacks which included a strike on the U.S. embassy. An Interior Ministry spokesman says the arrests include a cell of 65 people arrested in March who were involved in a plan that included targeting residential compounds, prisons and security forces. He says authorities also disrupted a plot for a suicide car bomber to attack the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh after receiving information about the plan in mid-March. The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh has no immediate comment on the disclosure.

31 Jul, 2015

Saudi Arabia condemns attack

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Saudi Arabia denounces the crime carried out by Israeli settlers resulting in the death of Dawabsheh and severely injuring his family. Minister of Foreign Affairs Al-Jubeir offers the Kingdom’s condolences to the family of the infant and the government and people of Palestine, blames the Israel for the death, and calls on the international community to protect the Palestinians from the aggressive practices of Israeli settlers.

13 Jan, 2016

Jailed

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Saudi Arabia detains Badawi along with her two year old daughter. Saudi authorities deny that Badawi has been arrested, but do say that she is being questioned at a police station. Amnesty International calls for her immediate release. The Raif Badawi Foundation, says that Badawi is charged with running the Twitter account of her ex-husband, another activist serving a 15 year sentence. Human Rights Watch:

The detention of Samar Badawi shows once again Saudi Arabia’s determination to silence those with the courage to speak out for human rights and reform.

 

15 Aug, 2016

Airstrike kills 11

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AirstrikeAn airstrike hits the Abs hospital in Hajjah, Yemen, and kills at least 11 people, and injures 24. The strike kills a Médecins Sans Frontier staff member. The Saudi-led coalition carrying out airstrikes in Yemen says it is aware of the hospital strike and will look into it. MSF is still surveying the damage in the area and will launch its own internal investigation into the incident.