Abdullah: "State is on the alert"

In a televised speech, he quoted Koranic verses which he said were clear proof that the killers were "devoid of all Islamic and human values".

The following is the text of the speech as broadcast by Saudi TV.

In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Praise be to God and prayer and peace be upon Prophet Muhammad, his family and companions.

These incidents have proven once again that terrorists are criminals and butchers and are devoid of all Islamic and human values

Fellow citizens: God's peace, mercy and blessings be upon you. The bloody and painful incidents that took place in the heart of our dear capital Riyadh yesterday caused dozens of casualties among innocent people, who were either killed or injured, including citizens and residents.

These incidents have proven once again that terrorists are criminals and butchers and are devoid of all Islamic and human values. They have departed from all moral values and become fierce monsters whose only concern is to shed blood and terrorise safe people.

These painful incidents must alert the heedless, restore sanity to the deceived and set the record straight.

There is a deviant and criminal side, made up of a few people, which is trying to strike at this society by striking its security.

There is, on the other hand, the proud Saudi people in its entirety, in its old men, children, women and men, who stand in one solid rank in condemning this disgraceful act, disowning its perpetrators and defending this dear homeland - the cradle of Islam and Arabism - by offering all that is precious.

The entire Saudi people, not the security forces alone, will be in a confrontation with the criminal killers

If those criminals and murderers think that their bloody criminality will turn a hair in the body of our nation and its unity, they are entertaining illusions. If they imagine that they will shake security and safety in our country, they are dreaming.

This is because the proud Saudi people, who accepted the Koran as a guideline and the Sharia as a way of life and who rallied around their leadership, which in turn rallied around them, will not allow a small number of people who spread corruption on earth to shed innocent blood, whose shedding God has prevented except in justice, and terrorise women and children.

The entire Saudi people, not the security forces alone, will be in a confrontation with the criminal killers.

There is no room for terrorism, but decisive deterrence against it and against any thinking that feeds it and any opinion that sympathises with it.

We specifically warn whoever attempts to find a justification from the true religion for these atrocious crimes. We say that whoever does this will become a true partner to the killers and must face the same destiny they face.

God says: "If a man kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell, to abide therein [forever]: And the wrath and the curse of God are upon him, and a dreadful penalty is prepared for him." (Koranic verse)

God also says: "If any one slays a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole people." (Koranic verse)

Our Prophet, may God's Peace and Blessings be upon him, said: "Whoever kills someone with whom a treaty is concluded will not smell the scent of paradise."

The state is capable of completely eliminating this corrupt clique and those who ally themselves with it and support it

These are clear and explicit texts that tolerate no different readings or opinions. They are proof that those killers are damned in this world and their destiny in the Hereafter is Hell, an evil place to stay in!

We promise our brother and sister citizens and our honourable brotherly and friendly guests that the state is on the alert to protect them, God willing. It is eager to maintain their security.

With the help of God first and the cohesion of citizens second, the state is capable of completely eliminating this corrupt clique and those who ally themselves with it and support it, God willing.

It will never be able to rise again after that. That is not too much to expect from God and from the resolve of the believers who rely on God.

May God's Peace and Blessings be upon you.

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.