RIYADH, 5 June 2003 — Police in Madinah have arrested a suspect who tried to get past a checkpoint wearing an abaya on Tuesday morning, a resident told Arab News yesterday.
The suspect was in the passenger seat of a car with another man and was trying to enter the public housing project. Two villas raided in the area last week proved to be hideouts for suspects associated with the terrorist attacks in Riyadh.
Police uncovered the man’s disguise at the checkpoint and arrested him along with the driver.
It was unclear whether the suspect was one of 19 men sought by the government whose pictures were published in newspapers on May 6 after a hideout in Riyadh was uncovered just days before the terrorist attacks on April 12.
Security forces increased security checks in the Al-Manarat district, next to Prince Abdul Majeed road, and were sweeping the entire area all the way up to the airport road. Patrols told residents through loud hailers to stay indoors as they continued their search for suspects.
Meanwhile, in an interview with Okaz newspaper, Madinah Governor Prince Muqrin denied that security officers opened fire to capture suspects wanted by the government. He stressed that security forces were given explicit directives not to endanger the lives of citizens or residents in the area.
The governor lambasted groups that believe in violence, killings of innocents and accuse others of being infidels. The prince said he did not know why the terrorists chose Madinah, the city of peace, as a base for their operations.
Prince Muqrin also asked religious and community leaders to search for the motives causing these groups to commit such acts and urged them to help return such people to sanity.
The governor also commended the efforts of security forces in Madinah in pursuing the criminals and arresting several of those associated with the terrorist acts in Riyadh.
He added that security forces were able to flush out most of the terrorists who were associated with the blasts in Riyadh. The governor praised the cooperation of citizens in reporting any suspicious activities and cooperating with police forces.
