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Hezbollah Al-Hejaz حزب الله الحجاز | |
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Leader | Abdelkarim Hussein Mohamed Al-Nasser Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Mughassil |
Dates of operation | 1987–present (mostly inactive since 1989)[1][2] |
Motives |
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Active regions | Saudi Arabia (1987–present) (mostly inactive since 1989) |
Ideology | Shia jihadism Shia Islamism Khomeinism |
Notable attacks | Khobar Towers bombing |
Status | Depleted and near dead |
Size | 100+ |
Allies | Iran Hezbollah |
Opponents | Saudi Arabia (1987–present) United States United Arab Emirates |
Battles and wars | 2017–2020 Qatif unrest (suspected) |
Hezbollah Al-Hejaz (Arabic: حزب الله الحجاز; literally Party of God in the Hejaz), or Hizbollah in the Hijaz, is a militant Shia organization operating in Saudi Arabia. It was founded in May 1987 in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province.[3][1] In the years 1987–89 the party launched attacks against official Saudi targets inside and outside Saudi Arabia. After being implicated in the Khobar Towers Bombing in 1996, the party was outlawed in Saudi Arabia. The party was part of the Iranian government's "exporting the Islamic revolution" policy. Most of its members were arrested and the party practically ceased to exist. In 2014 it was designated a terrorist organization by the kingdom's government.[4]