Editorial: Terrorists fighting a losing battle

There is one lesson that terrorists seem unable to learn. It is that the Kingdom will not be cowed by their bombs. Their brutal murders will win them nothing except the disgust of decent people. They are doomed to be defeated.
What happened at Al-Ridha Mosque in Mahasin district of Al-Ahsa a week ago is clear proof of this. Two suicide bombers tried but failed to enter the mosque. Alert security guards challenged them. One of the terrorists detonated his device. The other opened up with an automatic weapon. Four lives were lost and 33 people injured by these killers. The slaughter ended when the terrorist’s gun jammed and he was overpowered.
Had the killers managed to enter the mosque, the carnage would have been far greater. One explosives expert said it was possible the whole building could have been destroyed.
When Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, deputy premier and minister of interior, visited the wounded security men in hospital, he praised them for their alertness and firm reaction to the attack. It is clear that he believed that they accurately represent the courage and determination of the security forces throughout the Kingdom. The Al-Ahsa attack has been followed by a wave of arrests as the authorities close in on the evil men who sent these two young fools to their deaths.
What is happening now is arguably the third terror campaign against the Saudi people. The killers, in the shape of Al-Qaeda, have been defeated twice before. Their secret cells were exposed. Their networks broken. Their members rounded up. Now Daesh is trying again. They too will be defeated. And for the same reasons.
The Kingdom has built a formidable anti-terror apparatus. Its past success against the hidden terror menace has earned it the respect of intelligence agencies around the world. As a matter of fact, Saudi security forces have often supplied other countries with valuable information gathered during their operations here in the Kingdom.
But the strength of our defenses does not simply rest with the competence and experience of our security forces. Their extraordinary success could not have happened without one key ingredient — the support and vigilance of everyone who lives in the country. Many times, a report of suspicious activity has given counterterrorism agents crucial leads. Ordinary people have been able to provide crucial missing pieces in the intelligence jigsaw.
Most people who have come forward with such information have done it out of a sense of duty. But they have been rewarded nevertheless. At the moment, SR1 million is being offered for information leading to the arrest of one terror suspect and SR5 million for more than one. For those whose tip-off actually foils a terror attack, the reward is no less than SR7 million. This huge sum represents more than the priority being given to stopping the terrorists before they can kill and maim. It is also an inducement aimed at those within the Daesh ranks.
One crucial element of the Saudi campaign against terror, which is generally missing in other countries, has been the existence of a way back for those involved. Terrorists who hand themselves in have the real opportunity of being rehabilitated into society. Provided they have not been directly responsible for murder, they can escape the clutches of their terror cells. In return for what they know about Daesh networks and clear proof that have abandoned their past, they can look forward to a very different and secure future.
The 27-year-old second bomber at the Al-Ahsa last week was severely beaten by angry locals after he was overwhelmed. Had police not taken him away quickly, he would probably have been killed. This reaction was understandable. But it was also wrong. The man almost certainly possesses valuable information about his fellow criminals. The intelligence community needs to know what he knows. That information might even allow the security forces to foil another attack in Al-Ahsa.
The crown prince’s determined leadership in the Kingdom’s war on terror should inspire everyone. He knows the dangers because he himself has been targeted by killers. He has not flinched in the face of this deadly evil. Nor should anyone else in the Kingdom.
Each new outrage by the terrorists strengthens the resolve to rout them. This is something they seem incapable of understanding. With the loss of every innocent life, they are digging deeper their own graves and that of their perverted ideology. Every murderous bombing that they regard as a victory is in fact another step toward their defeat.