The executions seemed mostly aimed at discouraging Saudis from jihadism after bombings and shootings by Sunni militants in Saudi Arabia over the past year killed dozens and Islamic State called on followers in the kingdom to stage attacks. Iranian journalist Sobhan Hassanvand reported on Twitter that the protest was later quelled after police dispersed the crowd and made several arrests.
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Iraq forces extend Ramadi control, rescue civilians
Warplanes carried out nine air strikes near Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, which fell to Islamic State fighters in 2014. Police chief Hadi Irzayij said the suspected militants “were attempting to flee Ramadi by blending in with civilians”.
Criticism of al Nimr’s execution has been led by Shia-dominated Iran, Saudi Arabia’s main rival in the Middle East.
Gunmen attack Indian air force base near Pakistan border
One Indian security source blamed the attack on a Pakistan-based militant group, but said it posed no threat to civilians. The Western Air Command chief, Air Marshal S.B.
“While the Saudi government supports extremists and terrorist groups, it cracks down on and executes its dissidents”, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari said.
Funerals held for Palestinians killed in months of violence
During that same period more than 15,000 Palestinians and 350 Israelis were wounded, the United Nations said on Wednesday. Police said the motive for the attack remained unclear, and little was known about the attacker who had his face covered.
But the list does not include Nimr’s nephew, Ali al-Nimr, whose arrest at the age of 17 and alleged torture during detention sparked condemnation from human rights groups and the U.S.
In summoning Iran’s envoy, Saudi Arabia “handed the Iranian ambassador…a stern protest letter over the aggressive Iranian statements on the legal sentences carried out today against terrorists in the kingdom”, a statement published by the official SPA news agency read.
Thousands of militant Islamists were detained after the 2003-06 al-Qaeda attacks.
Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al Sheikh said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency that the executions announced Saturday were in line with Islamic law and the need to safeguard the kingdom’s security. The group said the case against him was part of a systematic effort by the majority Sunni government to crush dissent among the nation’s Shiite Muslim minority.
His death is expected to further exacerbate the proxy wars for regional supremacy being fought across the region by Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Sheikh Nimr was a prominent, outspoken cleric who articulated the feelings of those in Saudi Arabia’s Shia minority who feel marginalised and discriminated against.
A top Shi’ite cleric in Lebanon warned there will be a backlash because of al-Nimr’s execution.
Al-Nimr, who was in his 50s, was a widely revered Shiite Muslim cleric from eastern Saudi Arabia who was convicted in October 2014 of sedition and other charges and sentenced to death. “It sends a message”, said Mustafa Alani, a security analyst close to the Interior Ministry.
A prominent Shia cleric was among 47 prisoners executed by Saudi Arabia over the new year period.
Iraq’s prime minister Haider al-Abadi and his predecessor Nuri al-Maliki both belong to the Dawa party, and the latter claimed that Nimr’s execution will mark the end of Saudi Arabia’s government.
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Nimr’s brother, Mohammed al-Nimr, said he hoped any response would be peaceful. Al-Nimr and the three others mentioned had been charged in connection with violence that led to the deaths of several protesters and police officers. He urged people to “adopt peaceful means when expressing their anger”. His statement was carried by state-run Press TV.
