Saudi Arabia

ISIS assumed responsibility for a suicide attack against a Shiite mosque in Saudi Arabia. According to the SA Health Ministry 21 people were killed and 81 were wounded, out of which 21 are in critical condition.

After the attack, the UN Security Council issued a response which stated that “ISIS must be defeated”.

There were at least thirty casualties as a suicide bomber targeted a Shia mosque in Saudi Arabia on Friday.

According to media reports, the bomber targeted the Imam Ali mosque in the village of al-Qadeeh in the country's Eastern Province at a time when there more than 150 people were praying, the BBC and Al Jazeera report.

French businesses want to boost their presence in Saudi Arabia's growing electricity, telecommunications and poultry sectors, embassy officials said on May 19 during the visit of a trade delegation.

A UN envoy called for an extension of a humanitarian ceasefire in Yemen due to expire on May 17 as the Huthi Shiite rebels boycotted political talks in Riyadh.

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) issued an audio recording on May 14 that it said was by its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, calling on supporters around the world to join the fight in Syria and Iraq or to take up arms wherever they live. 

It was Baghdadi's first message since a number of media reports said he was wounded this year in Iraq.

The White House scrambled on May 11 to counter perceptions that  the Saudi king's absence from a summit later this week could undermine US efforts to assure Gulf states it remains committed to their security against Iran.

The Syrian question has become part of the domestic political agenda prior to the elections. It has also become a source of wishful thinking in the West, with an increasing number of reports suggesting Turkey and Saudi Arabia are on the verge of entering Syria militarily to topple the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Newly crowned Saudi King Salman has refused an invitation to attend a landmark summit hosted by President Barack Obama, amid angst over US-Iran nuclear negotiations.    

Saudi Arabia will begin bombings anew in Yemen, targeting rebels.

The Saudi Arabian coalition forces warned northern Yemeni civilians to leave their province before they began raiding rebel targets in the area.

Turkey and Saudi Arabia have long been in cooperation on the issue of Syrian crisis, but there are no new elements regarding that effort, spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry Tanju Bilgiç said May 8, elaborating on recent media reports claiming a new deal between the two countries.