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RIYADH: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pledged on Thursday (November 12) to attack extremists with an “iron fist” after the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a bomb attack on a gathering of Western diplomats.
The bomb blast struck a World War I commemoration at a non-Muslim cemetery in Jeddah on Wednesday, just two weeks after a French consulate guard in the Red Sea city was wounded by a knife-wielding Saudi citizen. .
The attacks, which underscore Muslim fury over French satirical cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, come as Saudi Arabia prepares for the G20 leaders’ summit later this month, the first to be hosted by an Arab nation.
“We will continue to confront any extremist behavior and ideas,” Prince Mohammed said in a speech to the Shura Council, the government’s main advisory body.
“We will continue to attack with an iron fist all those who want to damage our security and stability,” he said, according to the transcript of his speech published by the official Saudi press agency.
Prince Mohammed, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, has warned those seeking to carry out jihadist acts of “painful and severe punishment.”
Wednesday’s attack in Jeddah left at least two people injured, including a Greek policeman and a Saudi official.
A British citizen is also believed to have been injured.
Diplomats from France, Greece, Italy, Britain and the United States attended the Armistice Day commemoration ceremony in Jeddah, their embassies said.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack on Thursday, saying it was to protest cartoons printed by the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
A statement from ISIS’s propaganda arm, Amaq, said that the attack “was primarily aimed at the French consul.”
The group did not offer evidence of their participation.
In another incident on Thursday, Dutch police arrested a man after multiple shots were fired at the Saudi Arabian embassy in The Hague, causing damage but no injuries.
A technician takes measurements of a bullet-hole window at the Saudi Arabian Embassy in The Hague, after he was shot on November 12, 2020 (Photo: AFP / Lex van Lieshout).
It was unclear whether the incident, which the Saudi government condemned as “cowardly”, was related to the attacks in the kingdom.
‘EXTREME SURVEILLANCE’
The French embassy in Riyadh, meanwhile, has urged its citizens in Saudi Arabia to exercise “extreme vigilance.”
The warning followed an attack on the Jeddah consulate on October 29, the same day a man with a knife killed three people at a church in Nice, southern France.
French President Emmanuel Macron has vigorously defended the right to publish cartoons, but has also tried to quell Muslim fury over his comments.
Macron’s stance has sparked protests in several countries in which portraits of the French president were burned and a campaign to boycott French products.
Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holiest sites, has criticized the cartoons, saying it rejects “any attempt to link Islam and terrorism.”
In his speech, Prince Mohammed said he hopes that “the world will stop attacking religious symbols under the banner of freedom of expression”, as this creates a “fertile environment for extremism and terrorism.”
Saudi Arabia, long accused of exporting its ultra-conservative Sunni Wahhabi doctrine around the world, is a victim of domestic terrorist attacks.
Prince Mohammed, who pledged in 2017 to return Saudi Arabia to “open and moderate Islam,” has sought to roll back the influence of the ultra-conservative religious establishment.
“Extremism is no longer tolerated in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” Prince Mohammed said in his speech.
The heir to the Saudi throne has curbed the influence of the once powerful religious police, allowing mixed music concerts, cinemas and other entertainment options that appeal to the majority of the young population.
But at the same time, the prince has launched a major crackdown on dissent and freedom of expression, arresting women activists, clerics and journalists, as well as members of the royal family.
Saudi Arabia is also grappling with a severe economic recession brought on by the coronavirus, which has triggered unpopular austerity measures, including tripling its value-added tax and suspending a monthly allowance for state employees.
While acknowledging the “great pain” caused by the austerity campaign, Prince Mohammed spoke of the government’s efforts to tackle high unemployment and fight rampant corruption.
