Terrorists once again have murdered innocent people in the worst terror attack to hit the region. Istanbul's Atatürk International Airport was targeted this week by three terrorists killing 42 people and injuring at least 239 of different nationalities. The Istanbul governor's office said 23 Turks, 13 foreigners and three dual nationals were among the dead. Turkish officials said five Saudis, two Iraqis, an Iranian, a Chinese, a Jordanian, a Tunisian, an Uzbek and a Ukrainian were killed in the attack. Officials blamed the attack on the Daesh (the self-proclaimed IS) terror group. Saudi Arabia and world leaders have strongly condemned the barbaric terrorist attack. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for a unified international fight against terrorism and criticized the weak condemnation of Western powers. He said, "Make no mistake: For terrorist organizations, there is no difference between Istanbul and London, Ankara and Berlin, Izmir and Chicago or Antalya and Rome. Unless all governments and the entire mankind join forces in the fight against terrorism, much worse things than what we fear to imagine today will come true." President Erdogan said the attack should serve as a turning point in the global fight against militant groups. "The bombs that exploded in Istanbul today could have gone off at any airport in any city around the world," he said. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia remains alert and continues to combat the threat of terrorism within its territory and abroad. The recent reports of a large number of foreign suspects held on terror charges is quite alarming and a reminder of the serious threat that still exists within the Kingdom. The Ministry of Interior has announced that 29 Pakistanis, 19 Indians and eight US nationals are among a total of 823 foreign nationals who have been arrested on terror charges in the Kingdom. Also among the terror suspects are three Europeans, two Indonesians, six Filipinos and 18 Africans, mainly from Ethiopia, Eritrea and Nigeria, currently languishing in Saudi prisons together with 4,409 Saudis. Also, six Afghanis have been convicted of their involvement in some form of terror-related acts. The Kingdom has also stepped up its efforts in combating terror financing with strict monitoring of all transactions to banks. Major General Mansour Al-Turki, spokesman of the Ministry of Interior, said, "The government has frozen 117 bank accounts suspected of being used to transfer money to terrorist groups and is making all efforts to stop individuals from misusing charitable foundations to fund terrorism." The ministry has established a money intelligence department to monitor and investigate any suspected financial transactions. In order to crush terrorism and cut off terror financing, Gen. Al-Turki said that the Kingdom has enforced laws to criminalize all terrorist-related activities, including joining, supporting or recruiting for extremist groups According to the latest MOI statistics of 2016, Saudi Arabia has faced more than 63 terrorist attacks by Al-Qaeda and Daesh, 26 of them just in the last two years. The Interior Ministry spokesman said that more than 200 citizens and policemen were killed in terrorist attacks and more than 2,800 suspects have been arrested since 2015. There are strict policies enforced to confront the danger of terrorism and the alarming threat to the security and stability of Saudi Arabia. However, the national rehabilitation program to prevent radicalization and combat terrorism remains inadequate and the nationwide campaign to fight extremism needs a boost. More should be done to promote moderation and combat Daesh propaganda. It is critical at this stage to empower moderates and Islamic scholars in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world. The expanding control of Daesh in vast territories in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya and elsewhere has reached a very dangerous level that poses a great threat to Muslim countries and the international community. Political scientists and military and security experts urge a complete rethinking of existing counterterrorism policies. They assert that the challenge today is to develop new defenses against the amorphous and threatening terrorist phenomenon. Violent extremists with selfish agendas continue to acquire arms to kill from international arms dealers and Western war factories. The war on terror cannot be won with lip-service support and half-hearted policies to end conflicts and wars. — Samar Fatany is a radio broadcaster and writer. She can be reached at [email protected]
