2014 al-Dalwah attack
The 2014 al-Dalwah attack occurred on 3 November 2014 at al-Dalwah village in the eastern province of al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia when three masked gunmen shot at a group of people, killing eight people and injuring nine others. The attack occurred on Ashura and is thought to be targeting Shi’ite Muslims. Six people were arrested and one suspect killed.
| 2014 al-Dalwah attack | |
|---|---|
Location of Eastern Province in Saudi Arabia | |
| Location | al-Dalwah, al-Ahsa, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia |
| Date | 3 November 2014 |
| Target | Shia Muslims |
Attack type | Mass shooting |
| Weapons | Guns |
| Deaths | 8 (+2 attackers) |
| Injured | 9 |
| Perpetrators | ISIL |
On 4 November, two police officers and two gunmen were killed in an operation after five people were shot dead and another wounded. According to Saudi security, the leader of the gunmen had previously slipped back into the kingdom after fighting in Iraq and Syria.
While the government and the official media and religious establishment strongly condemned the attack, a handful of articles in the Saudi press argued that the attack "had not come out of nowhere", that there was anti-Shi'ite incitement in the kingdom on the part of "the religious establishment, preachers, and even university lecturers – and that it was on the rise".