RIYADH, 28 June 2003 — In the wake of the surrender on Thursday of the alleged mastermind behind the Riyadh bombings, Interior Minister Prince Naif yesterday urged all militants still at large in the Kingdom to surrender.
Ali Abdulrahman Saeed Al-Faqaasi Al-Ghamdi gave himself up at the house of Assistant Interior Minister Prince Mohammad ibn Naif.
Al-Ghamdi’s father, Abdulrahman, told Al-Riyadh newspaper yesterday that his son has done “the right thing” by surrendering.
“I thank God that my son handed himself in because this has comforted me and his family and this is the right thing to do. He should have done it earlier,” the father told the Arabic daily.
“I think he surrendered himself to prince Mohammad ibn Naif in Jeddah after dawn prayers,” Prince Naif told Okaz newspaper.
“All the wanted persons should surrender themselves. That is the only way because the security forces will reach them, and it is better for them to surrender themselves,” he added.
Prince Naif also said that a total of 50 people had now been arrested since the bombings at three Western compounds in Riyadh, in which 26 people and nine suicide bombers died.
“This is a major arrest and a huge victory in the war against terrorism,” Saudi Ambassador to Washington Prince Bandar ibn Sultan said in a statement after Al-Ghamdi’s detention.
