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Terrorists exploit conservative nature of women in Saudi Arabia: reports

Xinhua, January 23, 2017 Adjust font size:

Terrorists have been exploiting the attitudes of Saudi society towards women in carrying out their terrorist acts, Al Hayat local newspaper reported on Monday.

According to the latest security operations, a number of fugitives succeeded in moving freely while wearing women clothing, as many women in Saudi Arabia are fully covered, while others recruited women to coordinate terrorist operations. Some make sure to have female partners so they can rent accommodations easily in residential areas.

In the conservative Saudi society, gender segregation is enforced in almost all walks of life, so many women can't be easily monitored by the police.

In a suicide attempt in May 2015, the attacker targeted a mosque in Dammam in East Province while wearing woman clothing. According to the news report, the black Abaya that covers women from head to toes tops the list of confiscations during counterterrorism raids.

This was confirmed by the earlier statement of the Interior Ministry, highlighting that woman clothing is the most prominent means of disguise by terrorists.

In early months of 2016, the ministry announced the arrest of a Saudi woman who smuggled an explosive belt from Riyadh to Southern part of Saudi Arabia that was used in a mosque blast in Asir region that killed 15 policemen.

Saudi Arabia has been engaged in a war against terrorism for years, especially the Islamic State (IS) militant group. Endit