Saudi Arabia caution

In Saudi Arabia, terrorist groups (some affiliated with Daesh [ISIL] or Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula [AQAP]) have targeted both Saudi and Western interests over the past year, with multiple attacks on mosques and on places where members of the Shia-Muslim minority gather, resulting in significant loss of life.  

In 2015, a suicide bomber attacked a mosque in Al-Qadeeh in Al Qatif governorate on May 22, a blast occurred at another mosque in the Al Anoud district of Dammam on May 29, a mosque in the city of Abha was bombed on Aug. 6, mostly killing members of the Saudi security forces, and a mass shooting took place at a gathering in Saihat on Oct. 16. Mosque attacks also occurred in Najran on Oct. 26 and in Al-Ahsa in the Eastern Province on Jan. 29, 2016. Daesh also claimed responsibility for an explosion that damaged vehicles in Riyadh’s Al-Azizia district on Feb. 8.

US government personnel are restricted from traveling (without permission) within 50 miles of the Yemeni border; to the cities of Jizan and Najran; to the city of Qatif in the Eastern Province and its surrounding suburbs, including Awamiyah, and to the town of Hofuf and its surrounding suburbs in Al Hasa governorate.