LONDON: The terrorist attack on mosque in Kudeih is intended to provoke a Shia response and to capitalise on anti-Shia rhetoric coming from pro-government Saudi clerics, according to Firas Abi Ali, Head of Middle East Analysis at IHS Country Risk.
“This would serve the Islamic State’s agenda of creating greater Sunni-Shia polarisation, in the hope of forcing the Sunni community to rally behind the group,” he said.
“The fact that the Islamic State has managed to deploy a suicide bomber in spite of hundreds of reported arrests against suspected terrorists in the last few months highlights the continuing popularity of Salafist Jihadist Wahhabi ideology in Saudi Arabia.
“It appears from initial footage of the attack that the device deployed was especially sophisticated. An escalation to more destructive vehicle borne improvised explosive devices would indicate growing capability despite the ongoing efforts of Saudi security services.”
Attacks on Shia civilians have in the past been condemned by al-Qaeda leader al-Zawahiri. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula denied responsibility for such attacks in Yemen. Therefore, the attack was most likely perpetrated by the Islamic State.