Like past militant incidents in the country , the bombing was met with shock and condemnation. Also known by varying names such as the "Islamic State" or the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" ISIS , ISIL has an international reputation for brutality and violence, their actions including beheadings and floggings as well as bans on all kinds of perceived un-Islamic behaviors. A campaign of genocide against the Yazidis and set of massacres done in the wake of militant victories have also brought the group widespread condemnation.
President Barack Obama the Arab world have vowed to destroy the militants. According to The Washington Post in , around 2, militants originally from Saudi territory have left for Syria in order to join ISIL, this move being a part of the general destabilization created by the Syrian Civil War on the region. Al-Faisal commented that his nation has "always taken initiatives with regard to a firm position towards terrorists and against them", and he also stated that "there is no limit to what the Kingdom can provide in this regard.
Television figure Mohsin Shaikh Al Hassan stated that he wanted to be "initially concentrating on children in kindergarten" in order to "teach them to love their own country". The connection between ISIL's campaigns and hard-line Islam more generally in nations such as Saudi Arabia has brought commentary from a variety of journalists and columnists. Kerry has responded that the Saudi government's counter-terrorism actions have considerably helped, such as by cutting off money flows to terrorist groups.
An August attack by an ISIL-related suicide bomber murdered fifteen people and injured nine more at a mosque inside a Saudi special forces headquarters. An Interior Ministry spokesman stated that the militant attacked the Asir area complex during the traditional noon prayers. Saudi political analyst Jamal Khashoggi remarked that the attack could be the largest anti-Saudi action done by ISIL yet, with Kashoggi remarking that "[t]his is shaking us to the ground. In July , a police raid in the city of Taif ended in policeman being gunned down.
That same month, a car bomb attack upon a security checkpoint in Riyadh , the nation's capital city, wounded two policemen. The driver perished in the explosion. The attack is believed to be connected to ISIL.
