A number of armed terrorists carried out a brazen attack on Wednesday at a building site in Qatif, in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia — an assault that killed a little Saudi Arabian toddler and a Pakistani worker. Ten others were also injured in the attack, including four members of the kingdom’s security services.
The attack took place when a construction company was attempting to demolish a number of abandoned homes and buildings on a site that is to be used for a redevelopment project.
Authorities say the abandoned buildings were also being used by criminal elements who used the structures for alcohol, to store weapons and as a base for their criminal and subversive activities.
Make no mistake, no government anywhere can allow terrorist and subversive groups to engage in activities that undermine the social fabric of a society. Saudi authorities cannot allow such dissident and dangerous gangs to exist, let alone engage in any activities that spread vice or endanger the harmony that exists.
Last year’s deadly bombing in a mosque in Qatif underscores the dangers posed by elements who are willing to act with deadly violence to promote their political and sectarian agendas. Indeed, whether inspired by the unrest in the neighbouring Kingdom of Bahrain, or emboldened by Iran’s continued meddling in affairs on this side of the Arabian Gulf, there can be no let-up ever in making sure these subversive and dangerous elements are eradicated.
Any individual or group, whether motivated by greed or creed, should not be allowed to upset the societal equilibrium to which all Saudis — and everyone else across the Gulf region — are entitled to enjoy.
