JEDDAH, 13 August 2005 — Saudi Arabia has been successful in substantially cutting down the number of terrorists in the country as a result of its anti-terror campaign, says Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, spokesman for the Interior Ministry.
However, he pointed out that some terrorists had shifted their hide-outs to deserts. “We are now tracking them down over there,” the spokesman told The Washington Times.
“The number of terrorists who carry out terrorist operations has decreased considerably, especially after the killing of their commanders,” he said.
The general was suggesting that the Al-Qaeda cell in the Kingdom had lost its ability to recruit more Saudis.
He said the Al-Qaeda militants, who came to the Kingdom after having training in Afghanistan, had long-term strategies.
“For several years, they were smuggling in weapons through rugged Yemen border areas before launching their terrorist attacks,” he explained.
Gen. Turki also pointed out that Saudi security forces had developed new techniques to track down terrorists.
“The Kingdom has succeeded in flushing out most terrorist elements in the country and has succeeded in countering their evil designs,” he added.
Meanwhile, a Saudi woman said she saw a man who resembled Saleh Saeed Al-Ghamdi, one of the 36 most wanted terrorists.
The wife of Ali Ayedh Al-Shahrani said she saw the man in their house on Al-Kharj Road while they were vacationing there.
She said the man had a thick beard, long hair and was fat. She saw him while she was cleaning the backyard of her house.
She said the man, who was apparently hiding in their storeroom and carrying a machinegun, ran away pushing her to the ground and abusing her and her parents when he saw her.
“The man came out of the room when he saw my wife in the backyard,” Shahrani said. “I was planning to run after the man to catch him but my wife prevented me saying he was armed,” he said.
Shahrani immediately informed the police, who combed the area to arrest the man. The suspect later set fire to Shahrani’s house for informing the police.
He said his wife had received an anonymous telephone call demanding immediate withdrawal of the case from the police station.
“The fire broke out at the house a day after the telephone call,” he said, adding that investigators had taken samples from the debris and launched a probe.
