Monday's attack at the U.S. consulate in Jeddah is the latest in a recent series of terrorist plots against foreigners and foreign targets in the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia has seen at least 10 major acts of violence this year, and the number of attacks recorded in the kingdom has nearly quadrupled since 2000.
In one of this year's worst incidents, Muslim militants attacked and took hostages at the Oasis housing complex in the eastern city of Khobar. Twenty-two hostages, mostly foreigners, died when Saudi security forces stormed the complex. Forty-one hostages were freed in the operation, but three militants escaped.
Two Americans and four Europeans were gunned down in separate incidents this year in the capital, Riyadh, and other cities.
The most devastating attack also took place in Khobar, in June 1996. A truck filled with explosives exploded outside a U.S. military housing complex, killing 19 people and wounding nearly 400 others.
Some information for this report provided by Reuters.
