MAKKAH: Terror experts in the Kingdom are claiming that terror-suspects have fled Saudi Arabia as they no longer find it congenial for the growth of extremist ideologies.
“The deviant ideology is disappearing from the country and its advocates have no choice but to leave the country as indicated by the details recently published by the Ministry of Interior,” Maj. Gen. Yahya Al-Zayedi, a Saudi security expert, told Al-Madinah newspaper.
“Security operations in the Kingdom have proved to be a total success in checking the spread of extremist activities and driving them out of their hiding places.
The operations have also foiled their conspiracies against the country, society and religion, and unveiled the falseness of their claims. This is the circumstance under which militants figuring in the list ran away from the Kingdom,” Al-Zayedi said.
“It is high time that they shed their illusions and returned to their senses. They should give themselves up to the authorities who will take into consideration their willingness to surrender when they go on trial,” he added.
The general also urged parents not to allow their children to travel for jihad as some people are exploiting the young under the guise of jihad.
Brig. Muhammad Al-Mulaihim, another security expert, also warned parents in the Kingdom that some people with evil agendas are influencing Saudi youths and exploiting them for their own agendas. The Saudi authorities recently published a list of 83 Saudis and two Yemenis suspected to have been drawn to “deviant” ideologies — a reference to the Al-Qaeda terror network.
The names were released by the Interior Ministry following news in January that at least nine men, including several former inmates of the US prison at Guantanamo, had undergone a rigorous rehabilitation process and then been rearrested.
Brig. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, said that Saudi Arabia had asked for the help of Interpol to detain the suspects and return them to the Kingdom. He also urged the suspects to turn themselves in at Saudi embassies abroad.
Al-Zayedi, who is also rector of the College of Training at Naif University for Security Sciences, said that some terror operatives had planted themselves in charities and religious organizations to recruit Saudi youth. “But they are under the wrong impression that they would not be found out. On the other hand, our special agencies are capable of uncovering such deviant activists,” he added.
Al-Turki said in a press statement on Tuesday that the wanted militants might have left the country using forged documents. The official, however, did not name the countries where they may be. He also appreciated the cooperation of their relatives in the Kingdom. “It is more than our expectations. The relatives are fully aware of the importance of preserving the security of the country, their people and resources,” he said.
On the other hand, another security source contacted by Al-Madinah newspaper said many of the 85-listed militants are currently in Iraq and Yemen. Qassim Muhammad Al-Rimi and Nassir Al-Wihaishi, the two Yemenis figuring in the list, live in Yemen. The source added that 11 people in the list had participated in the rehabilitation programs.
According to a sister of Adnan Al-Sayegh, one of the men featuring on the list, the ex-Guantanamo detainee left home two weeks ago saying he was going to visit his in-laws in Baha. Other former Guantanamo detainees in the list include Uthman Al-Ghamdi, Ibrahim Al-Rubeish, Turki Asiri, Jaber Al-Fifi, Fahd Al-Jutaili, Murtala Muqram, Mishaal Al-Shadoukh, Saeed Al-Shahri and Muhammad Al-Aufi.
