JEDDAH, 30 March 2003 — A source close to the family of Abdul Aziz ibn Saud Al-Gharbi, 23, the Saudi who allegedly killed an Australian journalist and three others last week in a suicide operation in northern Iraq, has told Arab News that they only learned about his death from the Internet, adding that they were unsure whether Al-Gharbi himself carried out the operation.

No official information has yet been given.

However, the family, which is based in Dammam’s 75 District, began receiving condolences three days ago.

The sources said they did not know whether Al-Gharbi had any links with any political organization, as suggested in some press reports.

Contacts between Al-Gharbi and his family and friends in the neighborhood had ceased some time ago.

“They heard about him only after the suicide operation, through an Internet site,” they added.

According to an agency report, Al-Gharbi left his home a few months ago to join Ansar Al-Islam, a militant group based in Kurdish-run northern Iraq. Al-Gharbi’s father, Saud Mahmoud Al-Gharbi, told the news agency that he last saw his son several months ago and thought he was involved in business between Riyadh and Jeddah.

He said he had no independent confirmation that his son was the suicide bomber and was not aware that he had left the country.

Cameraman Paul Moran, 39, from Adelaide in South Australia, and two others were killed in the attack outside the village of Khurmal. Kurdish security officials said that at least eight people were injured.

Moran had just finished filming at a base thought to belong to the Ansar Al-Islam group when the explosion took place. Kurdish officials blamed it on the militants, whom the United States has linked to the Al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden.

The Ansar group said the suicide operation was carried out in response to a US missile attack on its base.

Al-Gharbi’s friends in Dammam said he had a calm and quiet personality and preferred to stay at home. He did not have any close relationships with his peers in the neighborhood and preferred to mix with his cousins.

Al-Gharbi completed his primary and intermediate education at schools in the 75 District before joining the Secondary Commercial Institute in Dammam. He later tried to join the Imam Mohammed ibn Saud Islamic University in Al-Ahsa, but his application was rejected.

The sources said Abdul Aziz Al-Gharbi used to lead prayers at Imam Bukhari Mosque in 75 District. He had been enthusiastic in learning Islamic sciences in the last two years.

His father owns a number of telephone cabins in Dammam and has three other sons.