IED event in Hejaz, Jeddah area, Saudi Arabia on Thu 30th December 2021

In addition to the attack that seriously injured French driver Philippe Boutron, a second explosion, which targeted the assistance truck of an Italian driver before the start of the 2022 Dakar, is also believed to be of criminal origin. French investigators suspect that the Dakar 2022 was the scene of a second criminal explosion in Saudi Arabia, this time targeting the assistance truck of an Italian driver, reported RMC Sport and BFMTV. A source close to the case confirmed "that the accidental origin of the facts seems to be excluded and that the logical follow-up should be an official denunciation to the Italian authorities." On 30 December, another participant in the rally-raid, French driver Philippe Boutron, was seriously injured when his car exploded in Jeddah. An investigation was opened in France by the national anti-terrorist prosecutor's office (Pnat) and, at the beginning of February, a source close to the case indicated that the only possible explanation for the vehicle's explosion was the planting of an "improvised explosive device". On Tuesday, RMC Sport and BFMTV wrote that "the explosion of the assistance truck of Italian rider CamŽlia Liparoti (X-Raid Yamaha), on the night of 31 December to 1 January outside Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) on the eve of the start of the race, is not of accidental origin. "The French specialised services [...] have been discreetly investigating the wreckage of the Italian vehicle over the past few weeks, while it was in transit through France", the two media added. When contacted, the national anti-terrorist prosecutor's office said it had "not opened an investigation into these facts which do not fall within our jurisdiction" because they concern a driver of Italian nationality and were committed in a foreign country.