Soldier killed, 5 hurt in RPG attack on security in Qatif

A hole on a police vehicle caused by Tuesday’s rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack in Qatif. Inset: Slain Special Forces soldier Ghathyan Al-Shibani.

JEDDAH: The Interior Ministry announced on Tuesday that a Special Forces soldier was killed as a security patrol came under attack by an RPG rocket fired by terrorists in Al-Masoura district in Qatif province.
Five other soldiers were wounded. They were transported to hospital, the ministry said. The incident is under investigation. The dead soldier was identified as Ghathyan Al-Shibani.
According to the ministry, suspected terrorists used rockets, explosive devices and land mines to obstruct work at a development project in Al-Masoura neighborhood, attacking security personnel and project workers.
Hamdan Al-Shehri, a political analyst and an international relations scholar, told Arab News that the timing of the attacks is meant to undermine the Kingdom’s stability and security.
“It is a serious development in view of the fact that an RPG was used, and this calls for more security efforts to neutralize these groups that are trying to show that there are problems in the Eastern Province,” Al-Shehri said in a telephone interview. “Those groups have foreign agendas and aim to undermine the Kingdom’s security and stability, particularly at this time when important political developments are taking place.”
Hassan Mustafa, a columnist and political activist, told Arab News that terrorism has no religious affiliation. “The terrorists, through their criminal acts, try to incite sectarian strife and create havoc and chaos in society.”
Mustafa said that the use of arms outside legal institutions, under any justification, constitutes a threat to the national security.
“Weapons can only be used by authorities in case of need. The use of violence to pressure the local authorities to respond to any political or social demand is totally inadmissible and must be countered by all segments of society.”
He added: “Those who are carrying out terrorist acts in Qatif or in Al-Awwamiyah are outlaws who do not even live in the town. The vast majority of them have criminal records. They must be arrested to stop them from sabotaging the national fabric of our country.”
He noted that several Shiite clerics in Al-Awwamiyah have repeatedly condemned any form of violence, be it against authorities or regular citizens. Terrorists do no distinguish between civilians or non-civilians, he said.
Last week, a Saudi child and a Pakistani man were killed and 10 people were wounded when armed assailants fired at company workers carrying out a development project in Qatif. The terrorists then attacked bystanders and passers-by.
The suspects, who fled the scene, also targeted company vehicles with explosives. The aim was to obstruct the demolition of abandoned old houses in Al-Masoura district, which terrorists use as hideouts for criminal activities, including kidnapping and drug peddling.