JEDDAH: The Ministry of Interior has identified nine suspects for their involvement in the attack on the Special Emergency Forces Mosque in Abha in the first week of August last year, and announced financial rewards for their arrest and for foiling terror attacks.

The ministry warned that whoever shelters or offers any kind of help to these suspects will be tried under the anti-terror law of the country.

A SR1 million reward will be given to anyone giving information leading to the arrest of one of the nine wanted men, SR5 million for more than one arrest and SR7 million for thwarting a terrorist operation in the Kingdom.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif is credited with eliminating the scourge of terrorism in the past. He was widely praised for neutralizing Al-Qaeda which unleashed a reign of terror between 2003 and 2006 by bombing housing compounds as well as security and oil installations.

He is also the chairman of the Council for Political and Security Affairs. The crown prince is widely respected both inside and outside the Kingdom for possessing a steely determination to rid the Kingdom and the wider world of terrorism. He is the architect of the most widely hailed counterterrorism program.

Daesh is ever on his radar. The crown prince and those who work with him have successfully eliminated many active and sleeper cells inside the Kingdom.

Sunday’s announcement of the list of nine most wanted terrorists, in connection with Abha mosque bombing, once again shows his and his men’s abilities to thwart the terrorists’ evil designs. His brainchild, the Prince Mohammed bin Naif Center for Counseling and Care, has played a vital role in weaning impressionable young men away from the path of terror.

The Ministry of Interior also announced, on Sunday, the arrest of a citizen and his wife for allegedly handing over the explosive belt to the perpetrator of the Abha mosque attack, in which 12 security personnel and four employees of the mosque were killed and 33 others were injured. The ministry disclosed that a soldier, Salah Al-Shahrani, helped the suicide bomber with the attack and betrayed the nation. He has already been arrested.

The nine suspects, all Saudi nationals, have been identified as Saeed Ayed Al-Shahrani, Tayei Salem Yaslam Al-Sai’ari, Abdul Aziz Ahmad Al-Shehri, Abdullah Zaid Abdul Rahman Al-Bakri Al-Shehri, Eqab Moajeb Qazan Al-Otaibi, Majed Zaid Abdul Rahman Al-Bakri Al-Shehri, Mubarak Abdullah Fahad Al-Dossari, Mohammed Sulaiman Rihan Al-Anazi (earlier announced as wanted on the list of 16) and Mutee’a Salem Yaslam Al-Sai’ari.