US State Department issues travel warning for Saudi Arabia

CAIRO – 21 November 2017: American State Department issued a travel warning on Tuesday for Saudi Arabia, urging US citizens to carefully consider visiting the kingdom due to terrorist attacks.

The warning said that terrorists affiliated to ISIS target major cities in the Kingdom such as Riyadh, Jeddah and Dhahran, including areas frequented by US citizens and Westerners.

The travel warning as published in the US State Department’s website:

“The State Department warns U.S. citizens to carefully consider the risks of travel to Saudi Arabia due to continuing threats from terrorist groups and the threat of ballistic missile attacks on civilian targets by rebel forces in Yemen. This Travel Warning supersedes the previous version issued on March 29, 2017.

Terrorist threats persist throughout Saudi Arabia, including in major cities such as Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dhahran, and attacks can occur without warning anywhere in the country. Terrorist groups, including the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and its affiliates have targeted both Saudi and Western government interests, mosques and other religious sites (both Sunni and Shia), and places frequented by U.S. citizens and other Westerners. On October 7, a terrorist attacked a Saudi government installation in Jeddah. Since May, sectarian issues in the Qatif region in the Eastern Province resulted in several attacks against Saudi forces conducting security operations there.

Saudi security forces continue to vigorously counter terrorist activities, having successfully disrupted multiple terrorist attacks and killed or detained several high-profile ISIS members. On June 23, Saudi authorities announced they had foiled an attack on the Grand Mosque in Mecca when a suicide bomber blew himself up during a security operation. On September 11, Saudi authorities announced the arrest of several suspects in possession of suicide belts and materials for construction of improvised explosive devices intended for use in an attack on the Ministry of Defense in Riyadh.

Violence from the ongoing conflict in Yemen continues to spill over into Saudi Arabia. In the past year, rebels have fired several long-range missiles into Saudi Arabia capable of reaching the vicinities of Riyadh and Jeddah, and they have publicly stated their intent to continue doing so. The most recent attack on November 4 resulted in debris falling near King Khalid International Airport north of Riyadh.

Yemeni forces also routinely fire artillery at Saudi border towns and launch cross-border attacks against Saudi military personnel. U.S. government personnel and their families are prohibited from traveling to any area within 50 miles of the Saudi-Yemeni border, including the cities of Jizan and Najran. As a result, the U.S. Mission’s ability to provide consular assistance in this region is limited, and U.S. citizens should not travel to this area.

Due to security concerns, U.S. government personnel and their families are also restricted from traveling to:

Qatif and its suburbs, in the Eastern Province
Hofuf and its suburbs, in the Al-Ahsa governorate
U.S. citizens should avoid travel to these areas.”