Isis first Saudi Arabia attack: Shi'ite Qatif mosque targeted by Islamic State suicide bomber

ibtimes.co.uk ^ | May 22, 2015 | Orlando Crowcroft

[Dallas59]

Islamic State (Isis) has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Saudi Arabia's eastern province that killed over 20 people while they prayed at a local mosque. The bombing marks the first time IS has struck inside Saudi Arabia.

The jihadi group has issued a statement in Arabic on Twitter as well as what appears to be a photograph of the bomber, who targeted a Shi'ite mosque in the village of al-Qadeeh.

[Greysard]

Where are they getting all the explosives? I realize in a chaotic environment they can’t be intercepted

In the North Saudi Arabia has a huge, unguarded desert border with Iraq and (through Iraq) Syria. In the Persian Gulf Saudis share a sea border with Iran - and nobody has resources to check all the little ships that go back and forth, carrying who knows what. In the South Saudis have a huge, unguarded border with Yemen and (via Red Sea) with Sudan and Somalia. Saudi sea borders alone are 1,300 miles long - most of that is inhospitable desert. A terrorist can trivially cross those lands in a well equipped modern vehicle, but Saudis cannot have permanent guards there.

I think an enterprising person could easily smuggle a few pounds of bad stuff into the country. Or a few tons.

[vette6387]

Don't you just love it! These MF’s don't even wear seat belts! Just shows what a few centuries of inbreeding will do the the mental acuity of the gene pool.
Allah Akbar you S'soS!

[thesligoduffyflynns]

If it comes to the Saudis bringing down the hammer I think it would be very interesting in how they do it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyEE0qpfeig

(1 min 38 sec)

[thesligoduffyflynns]

it ain’t no gene pool it’s a $$$$$$$ pool

[cookcounty]

"I labor under a dearth of knowledge related to the intricacies of the Shia/Sunni conflict, but it seems to me that if a mosque in Saudi Arabia isn’t Islamic enough for you, then you must be really super-duper Islamic.

There is a large Shi'a minority in Saudi Arabia in the NE, and to the Sunnis, they are apostates (and vice versa). It was a Shi'a mosque. Think Catholic and Protestants in the 1300's in France and add a few barrels of extra volatility. The two sides have 1,300 years of hostility going.

[M-cubed]

Will the rank and file soldiers risk all to fight for the “royals”? <<

I doubt it..kinda like the old Russian saying...we pretend to work...They pretend to pay us.....

[Aliska]

Thanks, makes as much sense as anything. It’s been going on since probably longer than the Cole (Yemen) and Beruit (Lebanon - too many, large number of our Marines when the barracks got car bombed.

[lavaroise]

Yep. Pakistan is also sour on dealing with Saudis whose wahabist taleban now threaten to topple not just Afghanistan but Pakistan too!

I saw a show where Pakistani intel is now scrambling to deradicalize its Western provinces.

I do not think they will sell nukes to Sauds who thought they could play alone and coopt CIA work with their own Bin Laden who got infiltrated by a Yemeni, Al Zwahari, Yemen being the only Soviet communist muslim country in the region during the Cold war.

[Jimmy Valentine]

If “past is prologue” a look at a map of Arabia pre WWI under the fading Ottoman Empire with all of the religious and tribal subdivisions will spell out which way this is going

[Sherman Logan]

Well, 16th century. But what’s a few centuries between friends?

The Sunni-Shia conflict isn’t more intense than the Catholic/Protestant one. I’m not sure it’s possible for a conflict to be more intense.

What is obvious is that it’s gone on a LOT longer. The religious wars in Europe lasted less than 125 years, with some aftershocks.

[rrrod]

Does anyone recall obama telling the Saudis they needed to watch their own country a few days a go? This is a conspiracist dream.

[Joe Boucher]

whatever happens to saudi arabia
just remember that they finance terror

[spetznaz]

The mosque was Shia, and that is the first (and most important) starting point. A little background - Islam is divided into three major groups. Sunni (nothing sunny about them), Shia (I wish they were more like Chia pets), and Suffi (the weedsmoking chilled out section of Islam). There are some more divisions (eg Ismaili), but those three are the main groups. Now, of those groups the Sunni are by far the majority. Over 90%, or close to it, I believe ...but numbers aside they are the largest.

Issue One: Sunni Islam considers all other Islamic sects to NOT be Muslim. Thus, an attack on a Shia mosque is not an attack on a mosque but rather on a building used by heathens, blasphemers and apostates.

Issue Two: Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Sunni Islam. Yes, the Shia claim direct descent from Mohammed (spit upon his soul), but Saudi Arabia is a Sunni country. Thus, a Shia mosque is Saudi Arabia is simply a target.

Issue Three: Most of the worst terror groups are Sunni. Whether it is ISIS or Al Qaeda or Al Shabaab or Boko Haram or Jamiah Imailiyah ...all are Sunni. From Nigeria through Kenya to Libya to Syria to Iraq to Indonesia to the Philippines ...to the group that will some day give America the attack that will wake the people up...the terror groups are Sunni. The reason for this is thay Sunni Islam has within it some very radical sects ...the salafi/wahhabi sects of Sunni Islam (another dear gift from you and yours from Saudi Arabia).

Issue Four: That's not to say that Shia Islam is, as a lower educated African American version of me would say, 'all good.' Nope! For one, the main support base for Shia is Iran. This is one of the reasons why all Arab countries (Saudi, the Emirates, Qatar, etc) hate Iran (which is Persian not Arab) with a passion. Iranians are non-Arab Shiites. To most Arabs, Iran is in the same category as Israel and the US. Shia Islam does have some hard core fighters in the Shia militias (probably the only people, apart from the Kurdish Pershmarga, that is not fleeing before ISIS), and of course there is Hezbo'llah! But generally, I will take the Shia any day over the Sunni. They are more likely to be THINKING. Secondly, I will take Iran any day over any Arab country ...the Persians have just had bad leaders, they're not Arabs, they're intelligent, and the youth have a high like for America!!!!! Hopefully someday Iran and the West will be allies, and it will take strong leadership from the US and proper leaders from Iran. Unfortunately there are many people from.both countries who don't want that.

[R. Scott]

May the Sunni kill the Shia, may the Shia kill the Sunni.

[grania]

fine by me

Every one of those 911 bombers was a Saudi citizen, illegally in the US at the time. So DC bombed and destabilized everyone else in their behalf.

It's way past time to unfriend the Saudi monarchy.

[windcliff]

I could watch those for hours.

[spodefly]

Thank you for the replies and information. I was generally aware of the Arab/Persian distinction, and that different sects in Islam exist, but the striking thing to me is that ISIS “resources” (suicide bombers) would be targeted to mosques in SA as opposed to assets more closely associated with “The Great Satan”/Western World ...

[ExCTCitizen]

I think ISIS needs to be labeled as a terrorist operation, and any assets they have needs to be seized. Any state that helps them, should be labeled as one... The west NEEDS to united against these pedophiles terrorists.

[ExCTCitizen]

Never heard of the Suffi? What are they, the so called liberal wing of Islam?

[spetznaz]

I would actually consider them more the 'mythic branch of Islam' rather than the 'liberal branch of Islam' (for that you'd have to look at the Ismaili community, which is a very liberal branch of Shia Islam led by the Aga Khan). The Sufi follow more or less mystic paths, and if you have heard of the whirling dervishes those are Sufi.