Daesh targets Saudi projects and pipelines for its next attack, cites ties with Israel as reason
Earlier this week, the extremist group, Daesh sent an open threat to Saudi Arabia targeting its mega infrastructure and oil pipeline projects located within the country in response to bettering of ties between Saudi allies (UAE, Bahrain) and Israel. The spokesperson of the terrorist group, Abu Hamza Al-Quraishi shared a coded audio message on the group’s Telegram channel, as a reaction to the UAE’s formal ratification of the normalisation deal with Israel, known as the Abraham Accords, on Monday. The US-brokered deal opened various diplomatic, economic, cultural and trade channels between the two nations, the recent addition being flying of commercial flights between Israel and the Arab state for the first time in decades.
A voice believed to be of Abu Hamza Al-Quraishi said, “The Kingdom supported normalization by opening its airspace to Israeli aircraft on their flights to the United Arab Emirates.” He added, “The normalization agreements are considered a betrayal of Islam. Our targets are plenty, starting with striking and destroying oil pipelines, factories and facilities that constitute sources of income for the tyrannical government.”
Daesh is a jihadist terrorist group, which once controlled large swathes of land in Iraq and Syria. The group consisting of various ultra-conservative religious fanatics had been referred to by various media organisations and governments as ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) or ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria” or “Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham). The group during the peak of its power in 2014 declared the creation a caliphate and called itself “Islamic State” (IS), the term resonated in correspondence with its expansive plans.
The terrorist group had its main presence in Iraq and Syria, which since March 2019 was reduced to a small number (but still has its affiliates all across the globe ranging from Middle East, Africa to Asia). The group lost its leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, in a US-led attack in October 2019. Ever since the remnants of the group had been fighting and working towards its resurgence in the region.
Many analyst believed that the group’s latest call to attack Saudi Arabia had less to do with KSA allies’ increasing association with Israel and more with the Kingdom’s drive against religious radicalism. Of late Saudi Arabia has transitioned towards a liberal Islam. Given Riyadh’s vast influence on the global scale the group perceives the modernisation of Arab power as a direct threat to Islamic principles. Besides, Riyadh plays a significant role in the Global Coalition Against Daesh, working towards complete eradication of the group and its terrorist activities.
“The Kingdom acts on a global level. It helps maintain security in the region and plays a very important role by exchanging intelligence information with other countries to maintain security and stability,” Dr. Hamdan Al-Shehri, a Saudi political analyst and international relations scholar, told Arab News.
“The world depends on its security intelligence and its efforts in the region in this field, and that is why terrorist groups such as Daesh, Iran and others know the Kingdom’s great role. That is why they wish to infiltrate Saudi Arabia, inflict damage on the Kingdom, and cross to the other side.”
“The Kingdom plays the biggest role in the region in confronting all these militias, so they (Daesh) target it in this field,” Al-Shehri added.
