JEDDAH, 27 February 2006 — The Interior Ministry said yesterday that preliminary DNA tests of the two bombers who died in a suicide attack on the Abqaiq refinery showed that they were members of the “deviant group.” The two were named as Muhammad Al-Gaith and Abdullah Al-Tuwaijri. Both were on a government list of 36 most wanted terror suspects and each drove one of the two destroyed vehicles.
The attack, according to a ministry source, was carried out using two white pickup trucks. Each carried in excess of a ton of Ammonite plus RDX and ITN. Further details of the materials used, said the source, would not be released for security reasons.
Police are still investigating and they expect to release more details of other aspects of the attack in due course.
On Friday, the men attempted to penetrate the world’s largest oil-processing facility at Abqaiq, in the Eastern Province, but their attack was foiled. Two security men were fatally injured during an exchange of fire with the terrorists.
Of the 36 wanted men, 22 remain at large. Authorities said when the list was released last June that 21 of those named were believed to be outside the country.
The Shoura Council yesterday praised the efforts by Saudi police in foiling the terrorist attempt that targeted the Abqaiq refinery. Opening the session, Council President Saleh Al-Malik said the Council condemned the attack. “The attack targeted both the Kingdom’s economy and the international economy.”
He said the Council realized that such attacks would only serve the enemy and “those who hate to see the people of the country uniting with their leaders.” The insurgents were targeting the country’s security and attempting to disturb peace and security.
Praising the police, Al-Malik said it was because of the alertness and courage of the police that the terrorist plans were not carried out.
“The Council stands in solidarity with the government against the deviant group and is determined that their ideology is eliminated and rooted out from the country.”
The Council stressed the shared responsibility of citizens and residents of the Kingdom in facing terrorist groups and those that support and harbor them.
In a statement posted on the Internet, Al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia on Saturday vowed more attacks. Friday’s attack was the first direct strike on a Saudi energy target since Al-Qaeda launched attacks inside the Kingdom in 2003.
