Last week, two terrorist attacks made the headlines. The incidents took place in two different countries, carried out by two different groups with the same ideology. The first one occurred in the city of Arar, northern Saudi Arabia and the second in the French capital, Paris.
Terrorist attacks are very difficult to predict. It is humanly impossible to watch the movements of terrorist elements. If you foil 99 attempts but one succeeds then the game is over. In other words, terrorists always bank on the 100th attempt. That is why; fighting terrorism is an uphill task and needs the combined efforts of the international community.
This is exactly what Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah told a group of 36 newly-assigned ambassadors to the Kingdom in August last. He said that if all countries around the world took serious stand against terrorism, then it would reach many countries around the world. So, what happened in Arar and Paris?
On the cold early morning of Jan. 5 in Saudi Arabia’s northern city of Arar three Saudi border guards were patrolling part of the more than 800 km Saudi-Iraqi borders, which is protected through the most advanced technological control systems in the world. The Saudi borders are equipped with cameras, heat-sensing devices, advanced radars, barbed wires, trenches and security personnel. This makes the Saudi- Iraqi border almost impenetrable. It is said that once in a while, Saudi border guards encounter somebody trying to cross over from Iraq with the intention of smuggling contraband or even someone who wants to escape the chaos. And every time it is dealt with in the normal standing order. But on that morning, four persons, who were easily spotted and intercepted, approached the border. When they were told to identify themselves, they opened fires. An exchange of fire took place during which one of the terrorists detonated an explosives belt wrapped around his body. All the four terrorists were killed. Three border guards also lost their lives and two were injured. Ironically, the attackers and the victims were all Muslims. Is it an irony? No, it is terrorism at its best.
Around 4,000 km away from Arar on Jan. 7, three terrorists whose names indicated that their faith was Islam, attacked the French satirical magazine building, Charlie Hebdo. The terrorist escaped and when it was clear that it was hard for them to hide, they took some hostages at a kosher market. Ironically, many Muslims shop at the kosher grocery.
At the end of the rampage, more than 14 people were killed including three terrorists. Later on, it was announced that two of victims killed by the terrorist attack were Muslim French policemen.
There are no words to describe the grief caused by these two incidents. The whole world must join hands to fight terrorism and its root causes. I will stop for now but it is good to know that both Saudi Arabia and France had always cooperated in fighting terrorism. And it was Saudi Arabia who was one of the first to denounce the incident that took place in the City of Lights, Paris. Speaking of Saudi denouncement of the terrorist attack in Paris, it will be the topic of my next column.
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@mulhim12
