Saudi Arabia has arrested 46 members of a militant cell responsible for a deadly suicide bombing attack on Masjid-e-Nabawi in the holy city of Madina last summer that was blamed on Islamic State (IS). Three suicide bombers and two members of the security forces were killed in the attack on the mosque and tomb of the Prophet, which was unprecedented.

The arrests were made in the western port city of Jeddah. The same group is said to be responsible for a suicide bombing near the US Consulate in Jeddah which took place around the same time.

One of the arrested suspects is a Pakistani. 13 others of the gang are from Egypt, Yemen, Afghanistan, Sudan and Jordan. The remaining 32 arrested persons are Saudis, and they were detained in Jeddah, the Interior Ministry was quoted as saying in media dispatches from Riyadh yesterday (Apr 30)

There was no claim of responsibility for the attack nor did the interior ministry statement blame a specific group, though media reports and terrorism experts say these blasts could be the handiwork of ISIS, which also goes by the acronym, Daesh.

ISIS has carried out a series of bombings and shootings in Saudi Arabia since 2014 killing scores of people, mostly members of the Shia Muslim minority and security services.

For Pakistan, the arrest of its national is a cause for concern since it enjoys special ties with Saudi Arabia. Former Pak Army chief Raheel Sharif heads the 34-nation Islamic Military Alliance (IMA) formed by Saudi Arabia to fight ISIS terrorism.

Several vocal sections in Pakistan are opposed to the Sharif government’s decision to join the IMA, often dubbed as Islamic Nato, in order to not spoil the relations with Iran, which are not in good shape even otherwise.

Moreover there is a fear that Daesh, which has already made inroads into Pakistan, may deepen its footprint over the country, attracting the youth coming out of jihadi centric seminaries, as also hard-core elements amongst the jihadi groups like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and Jaish-ul-Islam (Jul.), who have been the foot soldiers in the proxy war of the military establishment and the intelligence services.

Caliphate (also spelled as Khilafat) is the ultimate goal of the jihadis of all hues, the home grown jihadi groups in Pakistan including. Till now the Pakistani jihadis allowed themselves to be guided and goaded by the strategic interests GHQ Shura till now.

The Pakistani hand in Jeddah blasts appears to justify Pakistan’s elevation to the status of epicentre of terrorism, more so as many of the new terrorism recruits are attending the training centres of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Muhammad and the Pakistan Taliban.

by m rama rao