Al-Qa’ida Threatens Attacks On Saudi Arabia After Kingdom Executes 37

Al-Qaida in Yemen has threatened to avenge executions carried out by Saudi Arabia, suggesting that some of the 37 individuals convicted of terror-related charges and put to death last week were members of the group. Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, as the branch calls itself, posted a statement online vowing “never to forget” that the kingdom murdered “noble children of the [Islamic] nation just to appease America.” While Riyadh is widely considered the leader of the Sunni Muslim world, various Sunni extremist groups view the House of Saud as heretical due to its close diplomatic, economic and military ties to Washington. The executions came a day after Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack on a Saudi security building in the town of Zulfi. Saudi Arabia is currently engaged in a regional power struggle against its arch-nemesis, Shi’ite Iran, with the two countries fighting proxy wars in Syria and Yemen and also vying for political influence in Iraq and Lebanon.