| 2014 al-Dalwah attack | |
| Target: | Shia Muslims |
| Date: | 3 November 2014 |
| Location: | al-Dalwah, al-Ahsa, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia |
| Type: | Mass shooting |
| Fatalities: | 8 (+2 attackers) |
| Injuries: | 9 |
| Weapons: | Guns |
| Perps: | ISIL |
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.[1] [2] [3] The attack occurred on Ashura and is thought to be targeting Shi’ite Muslims. Six people were arrested and one suspect killed.
On 4 November, two police officers and two gunmen were killed in an operation after five people were shot dead and another wounded.[4] According to Saudi security, the leader of the gunmen had previously slipped back into the kingdom after fighting in Iraq and Syria.[1]
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".[5]
On 24 November, three weeks after the attack, the Saudi Interior Ministry revealed the identity of the attackers on the Al-Dalwah Shiite shrine in Al-Ahsa: Abdullah Al-Sarhan, Khalid Anzi, Marwan Nail, and Tariq Maimoni. Saudi security authorities arrested 77 people linked to ISIS.[6]
On 2 September 2020, seven militants linked to the shooting were sentenced to death by the Special Criminal Court in Riyadh, while three others were handed 25-year jail terms each.[7] Of the 12 defendants, 10 appeared in court for judgment. The court sentenced the first, second, third and fourth-degree defendant to the death penalty by crucifixion, while the others were typically judged to 25 years in prison.[8]