JEDDAH, 22 June 2003 — Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, urged citizens yesterday to “fulfill their religious and national duty” by informing authorities about any members of militant groups or those who support or sympathize with them.
“These misguided groups, whose members’ minds have been possessed by the devil, will be punished and defeated, God willing, along with those who support them,” he said.
The prince said terrorists and their supporters and sympathizers violated the Islamic faith and were shunned by Saudis and all Muslims.
Prince Abdullah was speaking at the royal court at Alsalam Palace to members of the royal family, ministers, senior officials, commanders and officers of the royal guard and members of the public.
The prince’s remarks came a day after police in Makkah raided an apartment linked to an alleged Al-Qaeda plot to carry out attacks in the holy city. Security officers arrested four women in the apartment in the Khaldiya district.
Police found two automatic machine guns in the apartment, along with ammunition and two grenades and a bag full of money and gold.
They secured the area around the house and prevented cars from entering the neighborhood until the arrests were made.
The four women are suspected of ties with the terrorists arrested in the same district last Saturday in a raid that also uncovered a large cache of weapons, including booby-trapped copies of the Qur’an.
The raided apartment was leased to Musaed Al-Khuraisi, one of 12 men arrested earlier this month in the alleged plot. The women were related to Khuraisi and other suspects.
Security officers say they believe the Makkah plot was linked to the May 12 suicide bombings — blamed on the Al-Qaeda terror group — of Western residential compounds in Riyadh, which killed 35 people, including nine bombers, and injured some 200 people.
Previously, officials said police were looking for about 10 more suspects connected with the plot in Makkah.
There have been reports of several arrests in and around Makkah since the June 15 raid of others linked to the alleged plot. Security has been tightened, particularly on roads leading out of the city.
In the raid, two security men were killed, while five other officers and four civilians were wounded. Seven of those arrested were Saudis. Three others were from Chad, one was an Egyptian and another was unidentified.
Last month, Saudi authorities also arrested three women — a Syrian and two Moroccans — in a raid against suspects believed to be linked to the May 12 bombings in Riyadh
In Buraidah, police arrested two more wanted men yesterday. According to a security officer, police arrested the two men for breaches of security after receiving information about their whereabouts. The two suspects did not resist arrest and are believed to be cooperating.
