RIYADH, 3 August 2003 — Saudi security forces have arrested three fugitive militants in the northern Al-Qasim province, the scene of last week’s shootout that left two policemen and six nationals with links to Al-Qaeda dead, a newspaper reported yesterday.
Okaz did not identify the three detained men, all Saudi nationals, who are currently undergoing police interrogation.
Since the May 12 suicide bombings of Western residential compounds in Riyadh that left 35 people dead, including several bombers, Saudi Arabia has arrested 144 people with suspected ties to Islamic militants. This is in addition to more than 300 arrests of suspected militants following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.
The crackdown picked up momentum in May. Since then, security forces mounted widescale arrests of suspected militants across the Kingdom. Information also led to the uncovering of terror cells, caches of weapons and hideouts.
Interior Minister Prince Naif had said the majority of those arrested since Sept. 11 had received training at Al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan, while a minority had been trained on farms in Saudi Arabia.
