Just over a week ago, AQAP claimed a plot to mail two parcel bombs to the United States that caused a global security alert. The explosives were intercepted in Dubai and Britain before they could be detonated following a tip-off from Saudi Arabia.
“We are against any crimes against pilgrims ... Haj is a pillar of Islam and we are most eager (not to spill) the blood of Muslims, wherever they may be. Makkah is more sacred than any other place,” AQAP said in a statement posted on a website often used by militants.
Last week, Saudi Second Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz warned of a possible plot by the Al-Qaeda to disrupt the pilgrimage.
Asked whether Al-Qaeda might stage an attack on the Haj or use the event to try and get fighters from Yemen into the kingdom, Prince Naif said: “We cannot rule out any operation but we are ready to foil it.”
Saudi Arabian troops are on tight watch over possible infiltration across the 1,500 km- (900-mile) -long border it shares with Yemen and which is known for smuggling.
