‘Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack on Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the deputy interior minister and the man who heads the kingdom’s crackdown on the group,’ Dubai-based Al Jazeera reports.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the group’s Saudi arm, claimed responsibility on Friday in a message posted on internet forums monitored by the Site Intelligence Group.

Mohammed bin Nayef was meeting Ramadan well-wishers at his home in Jeddah on Thursday when the suicide bomber blew himself up, a ministry spokesman said.

The intended victim Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz’s son. Abdul Aziz is the man thought likely to become Saudi Arabia’s next crown prince.

Al Jazeera talked to Hussein Shobokshi, a columnist for the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat, an Arabic newspaper, who said the attempted assassination was risky for Al Qaeda because it would take the kingdom’s war on terror to an entirely new level.

“It has also created an incredible amount of sympathy for the government,” he said. The government’s response is likely to be “strong, consistent and with enormous popular backing.”

The above leads me to believe that Al Qaeda is becoming pretty desperate. Not only can they expect the royal family to strike back hard, but they’ll also lose a lot of goodwill among the population for two reasons: the attack, of course, but also its timing.

Ramadan is considered to be a time of peace and harmony by Muslims. Even many fundamentalists and, yes, those with extremist views believe one should refrain from using violence during this month of fasting.

Why, then, would Al Qaeda try to kill Prince Mohammed bin Nayef? I don’t know – but I get the impression that it may very well be an act of frustration and desperation. They are pushed back everywhere. The Taliban in Afghanistan is falling apart, which means Al Qaeda’s safe haven could very well be destroyed. Iraq is stabilizing…

No, it are definitely not good times for Al Qaeda, which could explain their declaration of war on the powerful Saudi royal family.