JEDDAH, 1 December 2004 — Saudi Arabia yesterday offered its full support to the interim Iraqi government to restore security in the war-torn country and prevent Iraq from becoming a training ground for terrorists like Afghanistan. “We are fully prepared to assist Iraq to prevent it from becoming a training ground for terrorists including Saudis, like Afghanistan,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted Interior Minister Prince Naif telling reporters in Tehran.
Prince Naif acknowledged that infiltration by Saudi terrorists into Iraq was possible. “We would like to assure Iraq that no harm would come to it from neighboring countries,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a conference of Iraq’s neighbors on improving security in the Arab country.
Interior ministers and other officials from Iraq and its neighbors Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Syria, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt and Iran are taking part in the conference, which was opened in Tehran yesterday. The Iraqi government traded recriminations with the conference’s Iranian hosts over which side was not doing enough to fight terrorism.
Addressing the conference, Prince Naif said Iraq’s present chaotic situation posed a threat not only to the future of Iraq and its people but also to the security and stability of the region and the whole world.
“It’s the duty of all, especially the neighboring countries, to stand by Iraq in its present crisis and provide all-out support to restore its security and stability,” he said.
The Saudi minister called for effective cooperation of all countries and organizations to confront the threat of terrorism, which he said has become “a means of war used by enemies to achieve their goals.”
Prince Naif said the ongoing Israeli atrocities against unarmed Palestinians were responsible for inflaming terrorism. He said world apathy toward Israel’s terrorist actions had weakened the war on terrorism.
Prince Naif said the conference would deal with the issues of infiltrators and terrorists using Iraq as a training ground. The Kingdom is ready to train Iraqi security officers, he added.
In Iraq, a US soldier and four Iraqi civilians died in a spate of attacks yesterday, capping one of the deadliest months since the invasion and setting a bloody backdrop for efforts to keep landmark polls on schedule.
Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, who has insisted the US-led onslaught on the former rebel bastion of Fallujah had curbed violence, traveled to Jordan to try to win support from exiled opposition leaders for the elections.
Overnight, a roadside bomb attack on a US military vehicle north of Baghdad left one soldier dead.
