JEDDAH, 16 September 2003 — A Saudi convicted of murdering a fellow Saudi will be extradited to the Kingdom in a few days, the governor of Sa’da, Yehya Al-Amri, has told a Saudi newspaper. The convicted Saudi remains in Yemeni custody. The victim’s body is at the Salamah Hospital morgue waiting to be returned to the Kingdom along with his murderer.
It was also announced that Yemeni border police had killed three Yemeni nationals who tried to enter Saudi Arabia illegally a few days ago.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh earlier gave strict instructions to border security to spare no efforts in keeping the borders of both countries free of all illegal activities from smuggling to illegal entry.
Last week Yemen arrested six Saudis suspected of belonging to Al-Qaeda. The six will be deported to Saudi Arabia next week along with Bandar Abdel Hakim Al-Ghamdi. Al-Ghamdi was recently arrested on suspicion of being an accomplice in the May 12 bombings in Riyadh. That is generally attributed to a 19-member Al-Qaeda cell that included 17 Saudis, a Yemeni and an Iraqi with both Kuwaiti and Canadian citizenship.
Several other Saudis wanted for possible involvement in the Riyadh bombings are believed to have crossed into Yemen. It was not clear whether the six scheduled for deportation on Thursday were among those six. Saudi Arabia and Yemen cooperate closely in the fight against extremists. Both countries have experienced suicide bombings and other attacks. In July, the two countries exchanged 15 suspects, among them detainees accused of involvement in Al-Qaeda.
