Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Thursday (November 12th) promised to strike the extremists with an "iron fist" after the bombing claimed by the jihadist group Islamic State in Jeddah the day before against Western diplomats.
"We will continue to strike with an iron fist all those who want to undermine our security and stability," he said in an address to the Advisory Council (Majlis al-Shoura), in the aftermath of the attack which took place in the non-Muslim cemetery in the port city of Jeddah, in a ceremony attended by Western diplomats.
"We will continue to confront all extremist ideas and behavior," he added, according to the transcription of his speech by the official Saudi press agency Spa.
The jihadist group Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack Thursday, which left at least two wounded, during a ceremony for the anniversary of the armistice of November 11, 1918.
A Greek consular employee and a Saudi police officer were slightly injured, Saudi authorities said.
A Briton was also reportedly injured, which has not been confirmed on the Saudi or British side.
Call for "extreme vigilance" for French nationals
According to the Amaq agency, the propaganda organ of the Islamic State group, "the attack mainly targeted the French consul who attended the ceremony in the context of the insistence of the government of his country to publish cartoons insulting the prophet".
In a joint statement, the consulates represented at the ceremony on Wednesday - France, Greece, Italy, United Kingdom, United States - "strongly condemned this cowardly attack on innocent people".
This attack came two weeks after a knife attack that injured a guard at the French consulate in Jeddah, amid anger among Muslims over the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad by a Parisian newspaper.
The French embassy in Riyadh urged its nationals in Saudi Arabia to exercise "extreme vigilance".
Mohammed bin Salman calls into question freedom of expression
Comments by French President Emmanuel Macron on the right to cartoon in the name of freedom of expression sparked anger in the Middle East and more broadly in the Muslim world.
In some countries, portraits of Emmanuel Macron have been burnt during protests and a campaign has been launched to boycott French products.
Saudi Arabia, which is home to Islam's holiest places, did not comment on the French president's remarks but said it rejected any attempt to link Islam to "terrorism".
In his speech Thursday, Prince Mohammed bin Salman said he hoped "the world will stop attacking religious symbols under the slogan of free speech" because it creates "a fertile environment for extremism and terrorism".
On Tuesday, France, Austria, Germany and the European Union (EU) held a mini-summit by videoconference to try to beef up the European response to terrorism, after the recent jihadist attacks in France and Austria.
With AFP
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