With an eye on the threat posed by the extremist group IS in Iraq and Syria and a deteriorating security situation in Yemen, Saudi Arabia has prioritized border security to safeguard the Kingdom from outside threats.
A promotional video in Arabic shows how Saudi security forces monitor and deploy to deter encroachers onto Saudi soil. Security is provided by a complex system that employs a physical barrier fence and high-tech communication monitoring systems. The video describes the benefits of the border security system, and includes a dramatization of would-be intruders trying to penetrate the fence system. The video shows Saudi security forces identifying the threat through the system of cameras and GPS tracking, and mobilizing to take action against it.
Officially called the “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques project for border security,” the $3.4 billion project to secure the long border with Iraq is designed to reduce the “number of infiltrators, drug, arms and cattle smugglers to zero,” according to the SPA, which did not mention the Islamic State specifically by name.
The SPA said the “highly-equipped border security project includes 3,397 trainees, 60 trainers, eight command and control center, 32 rapid response centers, three rapid intervention squads, 38 back and front gates, 78 monitoring towers, 10 monitoring and surveillance vehicles, 1,450,000 meters of fiber optics networks, 50 radars, and 900-kilometer security fence.”
