JEDDAH, 1 June 2003 — Seventeen Saudis and a Palestinian arrested in Sudan on suspicion of belonging to a terrorist network will probably be extradited, police in Khartoum said yesterday. The group, which also includes a Sudanese, is still being investigated, the office of the Sudan police spokesman, Gen. Adil Sidahmed, said in a statement faxed to AFP.
“It is likely that the detainees will be extradited to their home countries in compliance with the relevant international agreements,” it said. The group was recently arrested as it was “engaged in suspicious activities and carrying out illegal military training,” at a camp near Laqawa town in central West Kordofan State, the police said.
The police added they were still searching for another Sudanese in connection with the case. A team of Saudi security experts is also helping the investigation into the suspects, who are being detained in Khartoum, according to local press reports.
Gen. Al-Tayeb Abdel Rahman, the governor of West Kordofan State, said last week the suspects claimed they did not belong to any organization and that they were traveling “on the path of Allah”.
Meanwhile, Saudi security officers stormed an apartment building in the holy city of Madinah on Friday night after receiving a tip-off and arrested two people. In an adjoining apartment, police found filters, scales and material that “could be used to make explosives,” according to Al-Riyadh newspaper.
Interior Minister Prince Naif said on Wednesday that 11 suspects were arrested in the same city over the past week, including three self-appointed religious leaders who allegedly instigated terrorist operations.
Police meanwhile cordoned off a village located 100 kilometers west of Madinah after receiving information that some suspects were hiding there.
