JEDDAH, 20 October 2004 — Saudi security forces arrested two wanted terrorists, one disguised as a woman, as they press ahead with a crackdown on extremists blamed for a string of terror attacks, an Interior Ministry spokesman said yesterday.
The two were arrested in the southern township of Houtat Bani Tamim on Monday night and found in possession of 10 hand grenades, a machine gun and three pistols, Brig. Mansour Al-Turki said. “A security checkpoint stopped a suspect car in Houtat Bani Tamim,” 170 km south of Riyadh, Turki said. “The driver stepped down (and was arrested) but his companion, who was disguised as a woman, sped away. Security forces gave chase and arrested him in the town of Addalam,” 100 km south of the capital.
“There was an exchange of fire during the chase, but no one was wounded,” the spokesman said, adding that the two men were “wanted by security authorities for their links with extremists.”
But Turki did not say whether the two figured on a list of 26 most-wanted suspects, 10 of whom remain at large. Police have seized from the two 10 hand grenades, three guns, a machine gun, 14 magazines of live ammunition and explosive material.
The Kingdom, stung by a wave of bombings and shootings, which have killed around 100 people since May 2003, has rounded up hundreds of militants suspected of links with the Al-Qaeda terror network. Many of the attacks have targeted Westerners. The last reported arrests of wanted terrorists were on Saturday, when security forces detained two men after a shootout in Riyadh. Another two suspects were picked up northwest of the capital the same day.
