Al-Yaum newspaper

I was talking to a friend about the wave of recent terrorist attacks in the Afghan capital Kabul, including the deadly attack on the city’s Intercontinental Hotel that left 22 people - including 14 foreigners - dead in a 13-hour siege of the hotel. This led us to discuss other terror attacks that have hit the Kingdom and the region. My friend wondered why terrorists commit such horrific acts of violence against people they do not know and have never met. I replied that such terrorists are so ideologically brainwashed that they would not hesitate to kill their own parents and relatives, let alone strangers.

This conversation reminded me of the terrible incidents that have taken place in our country where terrorists have killed their loved ones in cold blood. The story of the six terrorists who murdered one of their relatives just because he worked in the security sector is still fresh in our minds. The killers lured their unsuspecting victim to an isolated area and documented the murder. Then there was the story of the terrorist who killed his uncle who had raised him after the death of his father. After killing his uncle, the terrorist blew himself up at a police checkpoint in front of Al-Hair prison. A third incident, perhaps the most gruesome of all, involved two brothers who murdered their brother, declared their parents infidels and executed them in what was a well-planned attack. The duo stabbed their father to death and drove their mother to an abandoned warehouse where they stabbed her to death.

These incidents highlight the fact that terrorism has no religion and that our fight against terrorism, which began many years ago, must continue until it is eradicated.