Saudi Arabia offers multi-million dollar reward to stop terrorist attacks

Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry announced on Tuesday a reward of 7mn Rials ($1.8mn) for anyone who stops a terrorist attack in the kingdom.

The announcement was made via the interior ministry’s official Twitter account, which also released photos of 16 men wanted in connection with a suicide attack on a Shia mosque in the Eastern Province last month that killed at least 24 people.

Translation: A list of the people wanted by the security services.

The ministry is also offering rewards to anyone who can help them catch the 16 men: 1mn Rials ($250,000) for information leading to one arrest and 5mn Rials ($1.2mn) for the arrest of multiple suspects.

The 16 men – all Saudi nationals – are believed to be have been involved in the bombing of the Imam Ali mosque in the village of Qudaih, located in the majority Shia Qatif region of the Eastern Province. The ministry also said the men had played a part in the shooting of police officers in the capital Riyadh, although no specific details were released about this incident.

A wanted photo was tweeted of each man, along with their name, date of birth, identification number, and nationality – the youngest suspect is 20 years old.

The ministry also released a photo of a man believed to be the suicide bomber who detonated exposives strapped to his chest outside the al-Anoud mosque in Dammam city on 29 May, killing four people. He was named as 20-year-old Khalid Mohammed Ayed al-Shammari.

Translation: The identity of the person who carried out the terrorist crime at the al-Anoud mosque in Dammam. He is the citizen Khalid Mohammed Ayed al-Shammari.

The twin suicide attacks in Dammam and Qudaih killed at least 29 people and were claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group, who released a statement calling for the Arabian Peninsula to be 'cleansed' of Shia Muslims.

In response, members of the Shia community have set up self-defence committees to marshal the Qatif region, with local volunteers searching people and vehicles entering and leaving villages.

Authorities have pledged to stop further attacks in the Eastern Province, which is where the country’s Shia community are concentrated – they make up 10-15 percent out of a total 29 million population. King Salman described the bombings as a “heinous crime” that contradict “the values of Islam and humanity”.