Saudi Policemen Targeted in Drive-by, A Terror Hallmark of Islamic State

At around 10 p.m. on Sunday, two Saudi police officers were shot in a drive-by shooting by an unidentified vehicle in the city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Both officers were admitted to the hospital and “their health condition is stable”, per a statement from the Saudi Press Agency.

This attack comes just days after Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, Saudi Arabia’s Interior Minister declared that heightened security measures be put in place along the borders and throughout important economic checkpoints. These enhanced defense measures could also be put in place due to Riyadh’s lead air strikes against the Shiite rebels in Yemen.

The identities of the shooters are not known at this time, but this type of violence does fit the modus operandi of the Islamic State.

In recent months, Westerners in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States have been the repeated targets of drive-by shootings. Most notably was the attempted murder of a Danish citizen, Thomas Hopner. One of the Islamic State’s official websites released a video showing the drive-by-shooting of Hopner in his white BMW. Saudi supporters of the Islamic State took responsibility for the attack. The video shows the shooter in the back seat of a car pulling up alongside Hopner and shooting multiple rounds into his window and door. In the background of the video are audio clips of Islamic State calling for attacks within Saudi Arabia. Hoffner was shot in the shoulder, but taken to the hospital in stable condition. Islamic State supporters have also conducted drive by attacks in Sinai against Egyptian military forces.

The drive by is a popular attack method for the Islamic State because of its ease of execution, particularly in states with a strong security presence (like Saudi Arabia and Egypt). Such attacks require very little training, experience or logistics. Additionally, they are easy to document for future propaganda value, whether through videos, as in the case of the Hopner shooting, or in other attacks, where still photos of a shooting were photo-shopped with a “sniper scope” to signify the exact moment of execution.

Carrying out this attack in the capital of Riyadh may reflect the Islamic State’s desire to show their ability to strike in the heart of Saudi Arabia and to undermine confidence in the Kingdom’s security posture.