RIYADH, 2 June 2003 — The director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Robert Mueller, said here yesterday that he was “gratified” to hear King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah express their solidarity with the US in the fight against terrorism.
Addressing the press at the Conference Palace here, the director said that the words that came from the Saudi leaders were “exceptionally strong” and indicate that cooperation between the FBI and Saudi security forces was good.
They would continue to work together, he said, in addressing the problem of terrorism in the Kingdom in the wake of the suicide bombings of May 12.
The FBI’s mission in Saudi Arabia, the director said, was to assist their Saudi counterparts in examining the sites of the incidents. “What we found out was that the work of the Saudi experts was exceptionally professional,” he said.
He added that many forensic experts from the FBI had received initial cooperation from their Saudi counterparts and that there was still a small team in Saudi Arabia that would continue to assist the Saudis with the ongoing investigation.
The director met with Interior Minister Prince Naif yesterday afternoon to discuss continuing areas of cooperation between the FBI and the Saudi security forces.
Answering several questions regarding the rounding up of people after the attacks, he said that the FBI was “utilizing intelligence to detain visuals that have some association with Al-Qaeda and might have had an impact on the capabilities of terrorists in the Kingdom.”
