RIYADH, 31 December 2004 — Two terrorists in Saudi Arabia appearing on the 26 most wanted list were killed in Wednesday’s raid on a terrorist hide-out shortly after two car bombs exploded in Riyadh, a statement from the Ministry of Interior said yesterday.
One of those killed was Sultan Al-Otaibi, who also went by the alias “Abi Abdulrahman Al-Athri” and had been wanted by the Kingdom for his involvement in various terrorist activities.
The terrorist specialized in writing letters and leaflets that supported Al-Qaeda’s work in the Kingdom. He was also among the men who booby-trapped one of the car bombs that exploded in the attack on Al-Muhaya Compound, killing 18 and injuring dozens of others on Nov. 8, 2003.
The second top terrorist killed in Wednesday’s raid was Bandar Al-Dakheel. He was an intermediate school dropout and had been categorized in Al-Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula as a field combatant.
Bandar’s brother, Faisal Al-Dakheel, who was also a top terrorist, was killed in a gas station in Al-Malaz district along with the former Al-Qaeda leader Abdul Aziz Al-Muqrin hours after the terrorist group announced the beheading of American Paul Johnson on June 19.
All of the ten terrorists killed on Tuesday and Wednesday were Saudi nationals except one who was a Yemeni. The following is the list of the ten terrorists: 1. Sultan Al-Otaibi, 2. Khaled Al-Sunan, 3. Badr Al-Sobei, 4. Ibrahim Al-Reimi (Yemeni national) 5. Thamir Al-Khamees 6. Saud Al-Jaadi, 7. Muhammad Al-Muhsin, 8. Muhammad Al-Wakeel, 9. Abdulwahab Al-Shareeda, 10. Bandar ibn Abdulrahman Al-Dakheel.
Ibrahim Al-Reimi was associated with the former Al-Qaeda leader in Saudi Arabia Khaled Haj who was killed in a shootout with police in Al-Naseem district in Riyadh on April 16, to be replaced later by Abdul Aziz Al-Muqrin.
The death of the top two terrorists Sultan Al-Otaibi and Bandar Al-Dakheel has reduced the number of most wanted terrorists by the Kingdom to seven from the original 26.
“The sinful hands of the deviant group revealed their true colors to the public by targeting government establishments and accusing the Muslim society in the Kingdom of being infidels, giving themselves the permission to shed the blood of its citizens and residents,” said the Ministry of Interior yesterday.
“Before 9 p.m. on Wednesday evening, the followers of the deviant group detonated a car bomb, which had a large amount of explosives, outside the Ministry of Interior building from east side at a time when traffic and pedestrian movement was heavy. Thanks to the Grace of God, injuries were limited to the security guards of the ministry and five other cases of injured people whose injuries varied from minor to medium. Nearby hospitals received a few injury cases from the area of the incident,” the statement said.
“At the same time, another car with explosives headed to the headquarters of the Special Forces Unit, east of Riyadh. Security forces handled the situation before the vehicle was able to reach the doors of the headquarters as the person inside the vehicle detonated it at a distance of 350 meters from the entrance. Twelve people inside the headquarters building were slightly injured from flying glass that was shattered from the impact of the explosion. Others in the location including civilians and residents were taken to hospitals. No casualties were reported at the time of this report,” the statement added.
The statement also said that at 10 p.m., security forces were able to track down the deviant group responsible for the two blasts before the blood of their victims could dry. “They were eliminated and they were seven in number.
“They resisted arrest and fought with security forces. Security forces confiscated weapons, walkie-talkies, documents, and other items.”
According to eyewitnesses of the explosion, gun shots were heard moments before the blast. The suicide bomber was trying to penetrate the east side of the gate but when he failed, he set off the bomb in his car as a desperate attempt.
Saudi Arabian Television showed footage of human flesh, the remains of the suicide bomber who carried out the attack.
It also said that a taxi driver was killed in the blast when his car was passing beside the car bomb that went off near the Ministry of Interior. The deceased’s nationality has still not been verified.
Wednesday night’s raid on a villa in Al-Tawo’un district revealed yet another terrorist hide-out in Riyadh. The fierce gunbattle that took place between security forces and terrorists revealed a hide-out where terrorists kept ammunition, weapons, fake document papers, machinery, computers, and other items.
The hide-out is one of dozens that have been discovered in the capital over the past year in several areas in Riyadh, particularly Al-Suwaidi District, Al-Rawabi District, King Fahd District, and Al-Jazeera District.
Tight security around the areas surrounding the Ministry of Interior on King Fahd Road caused traffic jams in which long queues of up to three kilometers could be seen.
Residents of the capital have been traumatized by events that have occurred in the past two days.
It started off on Tuesday night when police were giving chase to suspects who stopped at a gas station near Al-Salam Park in Al-Deera District, and noticed that they were being followed.
A gunbattle took place between the terrorists and police officers.
According to the Ministry of Interior, one terror suspect was killed in the battle and another was injured.
The gunbattle caused part of the gas station to ignite in flames as firefighters who rushed to the scene extinguished the fire before it got to the main pumping station.
On Wednesday morning, the Ministry of Interior said that hours after the gun battle took place at the gas station, another suspect opened fire at a police patrol car.
The suspect was later pursued and was killed in an ensuing gunbattle with security forces. “The person threw a highly explosive bomb at the patrol car and as a result of that, four police officers were slightly injured. Security forces at the location gave chase to the car and later were able to corner and surround it.
Police exchanged fire with the driver who died instantly,” said the statement.
Arab News learned that an Asian worker was killed in the gunbattle between police officers and the terror suspects in the gas station on Tuesday evening in Riyadh.
The Asian, whose nationality has yet to be verified, was working at the gas station at the time when the gunbattle broke out.
“We can confirm that an Asian national was killed at the gas station when the gunbattle broke out. We still have not verified his nationality but we are working on that,” spokesman of the Ministry of Interior Brig. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki told Arab News.
Al-Turki also said that the number of terror suspects who were killed on Tuesday evening was not three, but one, contradicting earlier reports by Saudi Arabian Television Al-Akhbariya and other agencies.
“One suspect was killed and one was injured. The report of three being killed in Tuesday’s incident is incorrect,” he said.
“News that some members managed to escape is incorrect. No one escaped from the crime scene. What we are doing at the time is searching for other members of the deviant group who could be living in the area,” he added.
Many security checkpoints have been erected in several areas of the capital especially in the areas near the Ministry of Interior and along Al-Ma’athar Street in search of other members of the deviant group who are believed to be Al-Qaeda sympathizers.
— With input from Abdul Hannan Tago
