ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the events of this period on the northern frontier, culminating in the Ikhwan rebellion against the Al Saud. The Ikhwan raid on Busaiya on 5 November 1927, led by Faisal al-Duwish of the Mutair, was the first major outbreak of hostilities between Saudi and Hashimite forces since the capture of al-Hijaz in 1925. The British and Iraqis were now concerned that the ferocity of Ikhwan attacks would lead to the defection of many Iraqi tribes. Segments of the Anaza tribe threatened Iraq that, if Ikhwan raids could not be controlled, they would join the Ikhwan for their own protection. The Ikhwan posed a danger not only to nomadic groups, but also to urban areas where fields and animals, usually lying outside the defence walls of the cities, were vulnerable targets. Abd al-Aziz had been warning Britain that the Ikhwan rebellion was a result of Hashimite instigation among his tribes and complicity with the rebels themselves.
