RIYADH/RABAT, 13 June — Saudi Arabia is in contact with Moroccan authorities over the detention of three Saudis on suspicion of plotting “terrorist attacks” on US and British warships, a Saudi security official said yesterday. “We are in touch through official channels over the issue,” the official, who declined to be named, said. “We are awaiting details from the investigation and whether they (suspects) have ties to a terrorist organization,” he said.
The Moroccan authorities have arrested two Saudi men and their Moroccan wives and a third Saudi national for allegedly preparing “terrorist” attacks on NATO targets, including US and British warships, in the Straits of Gibraltar.
The women, arrested on Monday, were allegedly used as couriers between Al-Qaeda organization, which Washington blames for the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, and its members in Morocco, a Moroccan security official said. The three Saudi men were arrested last month. Morocco has identified the three male Saudis, aged between 25 and 35, as Hilal Jaber Awad Al-Assiri, Zuhair Hilal Muhammad Al-Tbaiti and Abdullah Misfer Ali Al-Ghamdi. The five are expected to appear before a Moroccan court in the next few days.
According to the Moroccan media, two of the Saudi suspects exploited local customs to conduct symbolic marriages with Moroccan women and gain legal status in the North African country.
