[DAWN] The Daesh or the self-styled Islamic State...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling
Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
turban group is extending its reach in Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
and fears are that its determination to bring down the US-allied royal family has raised concerns it could threaten the annual Moslem Hajj pilgrimage later this month.
So far, the murderous Moslem group's presence in the kingdom appears to be in a low-level stage, but it has claimed four significant bombings since May, one of them in neighboring Kuwait.
And it has rapidly ramped up its rhetoric, aiming to undermine the Al Saud royal family's legitimacy, which is rooted in part in its claim to implement Islamic Shariah law and to be the protectors of Islam's most sacred sites in Mecca and Medina that are at the center of hajj.
"Daesh and its followers have made it very clear that Saudi Arabia is their ultimate target," Saudi analyst Fahad Nazer said, referring to the Islamic State group by its Arabic acronym. "Because of Mecca and Medina ... That's their ultimate prize."
An attack last month in which IS grabbed credit appeared to mark a significant spread in the group's reach.