JEDDAH, 1 March 2006 — The leader of the Al-Qaeda network in Saudi Arabia was among the five terrorists gunned down in a shootout in Al-Yarmouk district in Riyadh on Monday, said the Interior Ministry. Fahd Faraj Al-Joweir, 36, who was trained in Afghanistan and had taken charge of the network in the Kingdom after Moroccan Younis Al-Hayari, the former commander in the Arabian Peninsula, was killed in a shootout in Riyadh on July 3.
“Al-Joweir had taken charge of the criminal cells after security forces eliminated other leading members,” said a statement issued yesterday by the Interior Ministry.
The slain leader was No. 2 on a list of the 36 most-wanted Al-Qaeda-linked suspects published last June by the Interior Ministry.
Officials refused to disclose the identity of a sixth suspect who was arrested in Al-Rawabi district, also in eastern Riyadh, during the same security operation in which Al-Joweir was killed. Four of the terrorists killed, including Al-Joweir, have been identified. The fifth is yet to be identified.
Two of the three slain militants identified in the statement as Ibrahim Al-Muteir, 22, and Abdullah Al-Shammari, 25, were also on the list of 36 most wanted men. The statement identified the fourth man as Jaffal Al-Shammari, 28, who, along with Al-Joweir and Abdullah Al-Shammari, took part in the attack on the oil processing plant in Abqaiq on Friday, the ministry said.
One of the two cars found inside the one-story villa in Monday’s security operation was also involved in Friday’s foiled attack, officials said.
During Monday’s operation, security forces found a large quantity of clips and ammunition. According to forensic reports, three clips were linked to Friday’s attack. Hand grenades, home made explosives and rocket-propelled grenades were also found at the site.
Chemicals for making homemade explosives and their fuses were confiscated. Police found SR200,000 in cash and a car which was used in Friday’s attack as well as stolen license plates, equipment used in car shops, fake documents and tools used for forgery, computers, maps, communication and navigation equipment.
According to the Interior Ministry statement, home videos of past activities were found, including terrorists preparing the two cars used in Friday’s attacks. The statement said that there were other items found which, for security reasons, would not be made public at this time.
During the operations in Riyadh, three Asian workers were accidentally killed and three injured when security forces opened fire on their pickup truck inside the area which had been cordoned off by the police.
Two Filipinos — Abel Monterela and Felix Llorando — and their Indian driver, Zahir Hussein Abdulrahman from Tamil Nadu in India, were killed when their vehicle was mistaken for one transporting terrorists.
A Philippine Embassy spokesman, Germinia Aguilar-Usudan, said that two of the three injured Filipinos were now in good condition. The two are Salvador Bibon and Jimmy Tactor. The third, Rodel Miranda, is still in a coma in the ICU of the King Fahd National Guard Hospital.
Indian Ambassador M.O.H. Farook told Arab News that he had dispatched embassy officials to the morgue at Shumeisy Hospital. They will receive personal details about the driver so that his next of kin in India can be informed.
The government has scored a number of successes in its campaign against terrorism since its war on terror began in May 2003. Monday’s raid brought the number of terror suspects still at large down to 18. At the weekly Cabinet meeting, on Monday, King Abdullah commended the efforts of security forces and their devotion in serving their religion, their country and the people.
Iraq’s state television reported yesterday that a Saudi suspect wanted in connection with the Abqaiq attack had been arrested in Iraq. The suspect, identified as Abdallah Salah Al-Harbi, was detained by Iraqi border guards in the Samawa area, in southern Iraq, Iraqiya television said.
Security analysts say some on the list of 36 most wanted men are outside the country, many believed to have joined insurgents fighting in Iraq, and some may be dead.
An Al-Qaeda statement posted on the Internet claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack, vowing defiantly to attack more Saudi oil installations. The failed attempt to blow up the world’s largest oil processing plant sent shock waves through financial markets, but the Kingdom was swift to calm jittery markets with reassurances about the security of its oil facilities.
