RIYADH, 12 December 2003 — In coordination with the government and in an effort to rid the Kingdom of terrorists, Arab News is publishing some background information on the terror suspects. They are wanted by the authorities for their involvement in terrorist acts that have taken place in the country over the last eight months. Any person — Saudi or non-Saudi — who has any information at all about any of the following individuals is asked to contact the Ministry of the Interior’s hot line: 990. The ministry is offering a reward of SR7 million to anyone who helps foil a terrorist attack or plot, SR5 million to anyone who supplies information about a terrorist cell and SR1 million to anyone who reports a wanted terrorist.
Saleh Al-Oufi
Full name: Saleh ibn Muhammad Al-Oufi
Nationality: Saudi
Age: 38
Background: One of the remaining in the first group of 19 terror suspects sought since the May 12 terrorist attacks in Riyadh. Saleh was born in Al-Hindiya village between Makkah and Madinah. He moved with his family to Madinah, where he graduated from intermediate school. He then joined the prison department of the National Security where he rose to sergeant in 1989. He was discharged for conduct unbecoming of his position and went to fight in Chechnya in 1995. Sustaining a bad head injury, he returned to the Kingdom for treatment. His family says he met Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan just before the Sept. 11 attacks in the US. After the toppling of the Taleban regime in Afghanistan, he fled the country with a group including terrorist Khaled Al-Juhani, who blew himself up in the May 12 attacks in Riyadh, and returned to Saudi Arabia.
Abdul Aziz Al-Muqrin
Full name: Abdul Aziz ibn Isa Al-Muqrin
Nationality: Saudi
Age: 30
Background: Another suspect on the list of 19, he used to live in Riyadh’s notorious Al-Suwaidi district. A school dropout, he traveled frequently to Pakistan and Afghanistan. Married with an eight-year-old daughter, he divorced his wife after returning from a foreign trip and deserted his family. Sources say that he could be the mastermind behind the terrorist attack on the Al-Muhaya Compound in Riyadh on Nov. 8. He is considered one of the most dangerous individual in the new list of 26.
Othman Al-Omari
Full name: Othman ibn Hadi Al-Omari
Nationality: Saudi
Age: 36
Background: Othman was also on the original list of 19 terror suspects. He grew up in Al-Shabariq village in Al-Namas in Asir. Educated to elementary level only, he joined the maintenance department of the army and worked his way up to sergeant. He was fired from work for corruption and theft. He given another chance and returned to service. He was discharged again later. After his work in the military, he worked as a clerk in an Al-Namas court. He was sacked for running a private business while employed by the court. His family believes he may have gone to Iraq during the war. He has not been seen since last year.
Kareem Al-Majati
Full name: Kareem Al-Tihami Al-Majati
Nationality: Moroccan
Age: Unknown
Background: Kareem was born to a French mother and a Moroccan father who works as a merchant. He graduated in Casablanca and is married to an American woman. Kareem came under the influence of extremist preachers and stopped shaving fairly recently. He established relationships with some extremists in Morocco, including Yousif Fikri, who was leading a new wave of extremist preachers. Kareem went to Afghanistan, where he was trained in an Al-Qaeda camp. He was a major supporter of Bin Laden. He is also wanted by the Moroccan government for his involvement in the planning of the terrorist attacks in Casablanca that left 44 people dead.
Amir Al-Shehri
Full name: Amir ibn Muhsin Al-Shehri
Nationality: Saudi
Age: 22
Background: Amir was born in Riyadh to a family originally from Al-Halaqa village in Al-Namas, Asir region. He completed high school in Riyadh and used to live with his father. During his second year in college he dropped out and joined the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. He was the imam of a mosque in Riyadh’s Albadeeah district. He went to Afghanistan to fight with the Taleban against US forces in 2001. He was jailed on his return to the Kingdom and divorced his wife during the invasion of Iraq. He disappeared six months ago and left a will behind asking his family to pay his debts. Amir has an infant son whom he has never seen.
