RIYADH, 14 July 2005 — Security forces arrested four people yesterday morning in Al-Naseem district, east of the capital, on the suspicion of being affiliated with those on the new list of 36 top terrorists.
The Interior Ministry confirmed the arrests to Arab News saying that it was part of the “combing operation which is taking place in several districts of the city.”
The statement said: “Security officers arrested the suspects and are questioning them to find out their role in deviant activities.” The Interior Ministry did not mention the names of the arrested suspects or specify the charges that were filed against them.
On Tuesday, security forces in the capital began their second combing operation to flush out any terror suspects in Al-Murooj, King Fahd and Al-Khaleej districts.
Twenty-five units from the security police, 10 units from the Special Forces Unit and 15 units from Riyadh Police Patrol Unit participated in Tuesday’s operation.
According to eyewitnesses in King Fahd district, police sealed off all entries and exits to the neighborhood and established a security checkpoint asking drivers in vehicles going in or coming out for their IDs and documents.
They also gathered information from furnished apartments in the area and asked residents if they had seen any suspicious activities. Officers also asked citizens and residents alike for their legal papers in many byways in the district. Tuesday’s combing of the three districts continued until 1 a.m.
The ministry said that more neighborhoods in the capital would be combed in the following days, without specifying any particular district. The districts of Al-Naseem, Al-Rawdah, King Fahd and Al-Suwaidi have been the most notorious in the capital for terrorist activities.
Later in the day, a source said that police arrested three other suspects on Riyadh-Taif road yesterday.
Arab News learned that the suspects were stopped at a security checkpoint on the road and were arrested after police became suspicious of the vehicle they were driving in. The ministry could not confirm whether the arrested were on the list of top terrorists.
