JEDDAH, 30 June 2005 — Saudi security forces are capable of tracking down the terrorists on the new list and foil their plans to carry out terror attacks, Interior Minister Prince Naif said.
“All our security agencies are on full alert and are capable of reaching them and foiling their terrorist plans and operations,” Prince Naif said referring to the new list of 36 wanted terrorists issued by the Interior Ministry on Tuesday.
He emphasized that Al-Qaeda militants in the Kingdom, would be tried in accordance with Shariah. “The trial will be fair and clear and fulfill all conditions and regulations.”
He attributed the presence of Chadians on the list of terrorists to growing numbers of illegals in both Makkah and Jeddah. He urged embassies of African countries including Chad to issue passports to their nationals who overstayed in the Kingdom to correct their residency status. Commenting on a statement made by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Riyadh, demanding the release of the three jailed reformists, Prince Naif said nobody had the right to interfere in “this internal matter.”
Prince Naif said Saudi security forces were successful in their two-year-long campaign against Al-Qaeda terrorists. “They have foiled not less than 90 percent of terrorist attacks, including large-scale operations,” he said, adding that Saudi forces would continue their outstanding performance in the anti-terror campaign.
Speaking to reporters in Riyadh late Tuesday night, Prince Naif also said that Saudi Arabia had protested to neighbors Qatar and the United Arab Emirates over plans to build a bridge linking their two states, saying it would pass through Saudi territorial waters. “The Kingdom should have been informed about it,” he pointed out.
Prince Naif denied press reports that there was a border conflict between Saudi Arabia and the UAE and said the two countries would soon sign a final border agreement. “We are working as one team to settle outstanding issues related to the 1974 border pact,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted him as saying. He told those, “who try to fish in troubled waters” that their efforts would be in vain.
Asked whether any foreign country was supporting terrorists in the Kingdom, the interior minister said Riyadh would not accuse any party without sound evidence.
He did not favor the proposal of preventing young Saudis aged below 25 from leaving the Kingdom without the permission of their parents or guardians, saying, “We should not lose our confidence in our youth.”
However, he urged parents to inform police about children disappearing for a long period. “If they get into the hands of authorities it is better for them and for public interest as they will be away from crimes and could be brought back to society as good citizens,” he explained.
Prince Naif was happy over the security cooperation with Yemen, Syria and Iran. “If the wanted terrorists are in these countries, they will extradite them to the Kingdom,” he said, adding that Riyadh was seeking a similar accord with Iraq.
Referring to the ongoing controversy on women’s driving in Saudi Arabia, Prince Naif said, “In my opinion, the issue does not deserve all these discussions.” In a previous statement, Prince Naif had said that women’s driving was not a priority for the Kingdom.
Commenting on the speedy apprehension of the killers of Lt. Col. Mubarak Al-Sawat, a top security officer in Makkah, the prince said it proved once again the high standard of efficiency of the Saudi security agency.
He also noted the progress made by the Naif Arab University for Security Sciences, adding that it would celebrate graduation of its first batch of doctorate degree holders next year. The university’s president has been named to the 10-member team of Interpol’s international security experts, he added.
According to a report carried by Asharq Al-Awsat yesterday, some of the terrorists appearing on the new list are dangerous. Moroccan Younus Mohamed Al-Hayari, who is No. 1 on the list, is believed to be the leader of Al-Qaeda network in the Kingdom.
Quoting a Saudi security source, the paper said Hayari, 36, is believed to have, “extensive contact with Al-Qaeda and handles the financial and organizational matters in the Kingdom.” Al-Hayari is believed to have entered the Kingdom using a Bosnian passport in February 2001.
“Putting him as the first person on the list is an indication that he is the most dangerous suspect. He has wide military experience, he trained and fought in Bosnia and Herzegovina and can be considered the leader of the terrorist group in Saudi Arabia,” the Arabic daily said.
The second on the list, Saudi Fahd Farraj Al-Juwair, 35, is believed to have been involved in clashes between Saudi forces and gunmen in January in Zulfi, northwest of Riyadh. The clashes resulted in four gunmen killed and three Saudi security men injured.
“Al-Juwair was among those who frequented the location of the clashes before the confrontation,” the paper said. Both Al-Hayari and Al-Juwair are believed to be in Saudi Arabia. The paper also said that Saudi Abdullah Mohamed Al-Rumayan is believed to be held by Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq. “We want him and believe he is a very important suspect,” the paper quoted the security source as saying.
The security source said that the list of 21 suspects outside Saudi Arabia, “are not necessarily in Iraq...We don’t want to fall into the myth that the only safe haven (for suspects) is Iraq,” the security source said.
Kuwaiti suspect Mohsen Ayed Al-Fadhili, 25, is also wanted by Kuwaiti authorities and is suspected of involvement in attacks in Kuwait and Iraq, in addition to the October 2000 attack on the American destroyer USS Cole in Yemen. “He is one of the major financiers of Al-Qaeda in the Kingdom,” the security source told Asharq Al-Awsat.
