Saudis mop up Al Qaida cells at home, but thousands bide time in Iraq
ABU DHABI - Al Qaida's Saudi operatives, under increasing pressure at home, are using Iraq as a safe haven. Islamic sources said Al Qaida has brought thousands of Saudi fighters to Iraq for training and eventual return in a military campaign against the kingdom. The operatives have been shuttling between Iraq and Saudi Arabia bringing weapons, funding and orders for insurgency attacks in both countries. <http://www.geostrategy-direct.com/geostrategy-direct/images/al-Rass.jpg> Saudi policemen check vehicles at a checkpoint in Al-Rass, site of a 3-day shootout, on April 4, between Saudi security forces and the nation's Al Qaida leadership, 220 miles northwest of the capital in Riyadh. <http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/021111/170/2nlsk.html> _____ "The [Saudi] security forces have succeeded in making life difficult for them," Saudi opposition leader Saad Al Faqih said. "But this has been counterbalanced by the fact that Iraq is acting as an effective shelter for about 3,000 Saudis opposed to the government. This means that the regime's opponents are more dangerous than ever." Other analysts assert that as many as 2,500 Saudi nationals have entered Iraq since 2003 to fight the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. More than 350 Saudis reportedly have been killed in the fighting. Al Faqih, based in London, said Saudi operatives have been receiving military training in Iraq. He said Al Qaida was intent on using these operatives to overthrow the Saudi royal family. "The fact that there have been extensive security checks all over Saudi Arabia in recent weeks means that the regime definitely does not have the situation under control," Al Faqih said. On April 5, Saudi security forces reported ending a 60-hour siege at an Al Qaida stronghold in the northern town of Al-Rass. At least 14 insurgents were killed, including two leaders of the Al Qaida network in the kingdom. Another 11 insurgents were either captured or surrendered to authorities. The Saudi-owned Al Hayat daily reported on April 6 that 18 insurgents had been killed. "There was no chance for anyone to escape," Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Mansour Al Turki said. "We got them all." At first, Al Qaida network leader Saleh Al Awfi was not identified as either having been slain or captured. But Saudi security sources said Interior Ministry forces killed Abdul Karim Al Majati, a Moroccan national and regarded as the mastermind behind the multiple suicide bombings in Casablanca in 2003. Sources said Al Majati had been sought by several European governments in connection with the Madrid train bombings in March 2004. The Interior Ministry later identified another slain insurgent as Mohammed Al Yazji, No. 15 on the government's list of 26 most-wanted fugitives. With Al Yazji's death, only two people remain on the list, released on December 2003. Al Yazji was killed in a shootout with police after he was surrounded in an industrial area of southern Riyad, an Interior Ministry statement said. In June 2004, Islamic sources and media reports asserted that Al Yazji had been killed in a battle with police in Al Hada, near the western town of Taif. Months later, Saudi security sources said Al Yazji remained at large. Subsequently, Saudi sources said the formal leader of the Al Qaida cell, Saleh Al Awfi, was also killed. They said DNA tests would be required to determine the identify of the burned body found in the Al Qaida stronghold in Al-Rass. Al Awfi was believed killed in September 2004. But last month a recording purportedly made by Al Awfi called for Islamic attacks on Western targets in the Middle East. "One of the dead, who had an amputated leg, was found in a wheelchair," stated the London-based opposition group, the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia, on Wednesday. "According to information available to the security services, it is Saleh Al Awfi. But the body was burnt and it is not possible to be certain of his identity before a DNA analysis." http://www.geostrategy-direct.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> DonorsChoose. A simple way to provide underprivileged children resources often lacking in public schools. Fund a student project in NYC/NC today! http://us.click.yahoo.com/EHLuJD/.WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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