RIYADH, 17 August 2003 — The Kingdom’s highest Islamic authority yesterday denounced terror attacks in the Kingdom, describing them as “serious criminal acts,” and pledged its full support for the government.
“Acts of sabotage such as bombings, murder and destruction of property are serious criminal acts and an aggression against innocent people... which warrant severe and deterrent punishment,” the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars said in a statement.
The 17-member council, headed by Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, declared its support for the actions being taken by the state to track down terrorists in an effort to shield the country from their actions.
Meanwhile, Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, held telephone talks with US President George W. Bush on bilateral efforts to starve terrorists of funds and other efforts to battle extremism, the White House said. “They talked about continued cooperation between the US and Saudi Arabia in the war on terrorism, particularly the ongoing cooperation on cracking down on terrorist financing,” said spokesman Scott McClellan. “It was a good, positive conversation” that ran some 20 minutes, McClellan said.
The scholars’ statement followed media reports that 10 suspected militants were arrested in the southern city of Jizan after police raided their hideout on Friday.
The Islamic body called on the Saudi people to “stand behind the country’s leadership and their scholars,” at these difficult times in the fight against “evildoers.”
The statement dubbed “misguided and ignorant” those who claim that terrorism was part of jihad, or holy war. It said people who provide shelter to suspected militants were committing a “grave sin.”
In Jizan, police raided a terrorist cell located on the second floor of a building east of the city in Qarboos village.
According to a report in Al-Jazirah newspaper, the cell consisted of 10 Saudis, one of whom was a police officer. Eleven Bangladeshis living on the third floor were also detained for questioning. Police arrived at the site about 2:30 p.m. and the actual raid began half an hour later. Initially, the police used tear gas and then explosives to break down doors.
The weapons seized from the suspects included 93 bazookas, 53 hand grenades, a large cache of ammunition, machine guns, plastic explosives, walkie-talkies, chemicals, electronic equipment as well as three police uniforms and other personal items.
