Saudi Arabia faces a persistent mid-level terrorist campaign by the Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda. Neither group is strong enough to threaten the survival of the kingdom but they are capable of high-profile spectacular attacks and assassinations. The Saudis are a crucial part of the war against Islamic extremists for the United States but that partnership is at risk.

This month, the Saudi Interior Ministry reported that 128 terrorist attacks took place in 2016, resulting in 1,147 killed and injured. Two more terrorists blew themselves up Jan. 21 in Jeddah. The most dangerous attack last year was in Medina on July 4 near the Prophet's Mosque, the second-holiest site in Islam, which killed four policemen on the eve of Eid al-Fitr. A suicide bomber also blew himself up close to the US Consulate in Jeddah on the same day and a Shiite mosque in Eastern Province was also attacked; multiple simultaneous attacks are a hallmark of al-Qaeda.

The Interior Ministry killed the mastermind of the July attacks this month in a counterterrorist raid in Riyadh. He had been educated in New Zealand before joining IS in Syria; the organization trained him in explosives. He infiltrated back into the kingdom through Turkey, Sudan and Yemen.

IS called for the overthrow of the House of Saud in its magazine Dabiq more than a year ago. The kingdom formed an Islamic military alliance with 40 members to fight IS, although it is also a mechanism to combat Iran as well.