Iraqi cleric blames Riyadh for terror attack on Shias

Influential Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has blamed the Saudi regime for the recent terrorist attack on a Shia mosque in the kingdom.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Sadr warned that Saudi Arabia’s Shia minority will continue to be targeted by Takfiri terrorists as there is no real determination on the side of the kingdom’s officials to fight extremism.

“What happened in Qatif is neither the first nor the last, especially with the lack of real deterrent from the Saudi government against the militants in the kingdom,” said the cleric in reference to the deadly incident.

On Friday, 21 people lost their lives and nearly 100 others sustained injuries in a bomb attack carried out by the ISIL Takfiri terrorist group against a Shia mosque in Qatif district in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.

Sadr also lashed out at Riyadh for fueling the extremist thought in the kingdom and the whole region.

“I don’t rule out the existence of [Saudi] government parties that feed this miserable and hateful extremism against moderation in general,” he pointed out.

The Iraqi figure stressed that Riyadh’s systematic discrimination against Shias has caused mounting dissatisfaction in the country, saying an uprising against the Al Saud regime is very like to happen if the injustice persists.

There have been numerous demonstrations in Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich Eastern Province since 2011, with the protesters calling for political reform and an end to widespread discrimination.

The ISIL Takfiri group, with members from several Western countries, controls parts of land in Syria and Iraq, and has been carrying out horrific acts of violence, including public decapitations and crucifixions, against all communities such as Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, and Christians.

The Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey – are said to be supporting the ISIL.