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10-18-2009, 11:15 PM
Militants killed in Saudi shootout were local
By DONNA ABU-NASR
Associated Press Writer
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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- The two al-Qaida militants killed in a recent shootout sneaked into Saudi Arabia from Yemen and were planning to carry out a massive attack, the Interior Ministry spokesman said Sunday.
Four explosive belts - three of them ready to use - were found in the car used by the militants in Tuesday's shootout which suggests that at least four people were going to take part in the attack, ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Mansour al-Turki told The Associated Press.
He said six Yemeni accomplices who were coordinating with the two militants - Youssef al-Shihri and Raed al-Harbi - were also arrested.
"The whole group was planning one terror attack and each of them had a specific role to play," said al-Turki.
"The presence of the extra belts indicates they were working with people inside the kingdom," he added.
Al-Shihri and al-Harbi were disguised as women as they drove across the border Tuesday with a third militant, who was later arrested.
The three were stopped at a checkpoint in the south of the country, near the border with Yemen. When a female inspector approached the car to check the identities of the "women," the three opened fire. A soldier was also killed in the violence and another was lightly injured.
The shootout follows closely on the attempted assassination of Assistant Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef by suicide bomber in the western seaport of Jiddah on Aug. 27.
Like al-Shihri and al-Harbi, the attacker, Abdullah Hassan Tali Assiri, was a member of the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. The three were on the kingdom's latest most wanted list, which was released in February. It includes the names of 83 Saudis and two Yemenis living abroad and suspected of belonging to al-Qaida.
A profile of al-Harbi released by the Interior Ministry in February shows that he was 21 and that his last known location was in Yemen. Youssef al-Shihri was 25 and he took his nephew, 16-year-old Abdul-Ilah al-Shihri, with him to Yemen, according to the profile.
Government-run Saudi TV showed the bloodied bodies of the militants, including the explosive belts they were wearing, at the site of the shootout.
Al-Turki said one of the belts contained almost 300 tiny metal rounds while another contained 500 grams of RDX explosive, "a reflection of the magnitude of the crime they were planning to carry out and their intention to kill the largest number of people possible."
Al-Turki said authorities are looking for more accomplices.
The attack against the prince and the shootout coming less than two months apart suggest that al-Qaida in Yemen is stepping up its activities inside the kingdom.
Saudi officials have expressed concern that al-Qaida could use Yemen as a sanctuary to launch cross-border attacks after the network's Saudi and Yemeni branches merged in January. Washington has openly expressed concern that Yemen could fall apart and become another Afghanistan with an open door for al-Qaida.
Saudi Arabia has launched a fierce campaign against al-Qaida, killing or capturing most of its leaders after the militants launched in 2003 a string of attacks targeting foreigners and the oil infrastructure.
By DONNA ABU-NASR
Associated Press Writer
Your Questions Answered
Ask AP: Miranda rights, artificial growth hormone
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- The two al-Qaida militants killed in a recent shootout sneaked into Saudi Arabia from Yemen and were planning to carry out a massive attack, the Interior Ministry spokesman said Sunday.
Four explosive belts - three of them ready to use - were found in the car used by the militants in Tuesday's shootout which suggests that at least four people were going to take part in the attack, ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Mansour al-Turki told The Associated Press.
He said six Yemeni accomplices who were coordinating with the two militants - Youssef al-Shihri and Raed al-Harbi - were also arrested.
"The whole group was planning one terror attack and each of them had a specific role to play," said al-Turki.
"The presence of the extra belts indicates they were working with people inside the kingdom," he added.
Al-Shihri and al-Harbi were disguised as women as they drove across the border Tuesday with a third militant, who was later arrested.
The three were stopped at a checkpoint in the south of the country, near the border with Yemen. When a female inspector approached the car to check the identities of the "women," the three opened fire. A soldier was also killed in the violence and another was lightly injured.
The shootout follows closely on the attempted assassination of Assistant Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef by suicide bomber in the western seaport of Jiddah on Aug. 27.
Like al-Shihri and al-Harbi, the attacker, Abdullah Hassan Tali Assiri, was a member of the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. The three were on the kingdom's latest most wanted list, which was released in February. It includes the names of 83 Saudis and two Yemenis living abroad and suspected of belonging to al-Qaida.
A profile of al-Harbi released by the Interior Ministry in February shows that he was 21 and that his last known location was in Yemen. Youssef al-Shihri was 25 and he took his nephew, 16-year-old Abdul-Ilah al-Shihri, with him to Yemen, according to the profile.
Government-run Saudi TV showed the bloodied bodies of the militants, including the explosive belts they were wearing, at the site of the shootout.
Al-Turki said one of the belts contained almost 300 tiny metal rounds while another contained 500 grams of RDX explosive, "a reflection of the magnitude of the crime they were planning to carry out and their intention to kill the largest number of people possible."
Al-Turki said authorities are looking for more accomplices.
The attack against the prince and the shootout coming less than two months apart suggest that al-Qaida in Yemen is stepping up its activities inside the kingdom.
Saudi officials have expressed concern that al-Qaida could use Yemen as a sanctuary to launch cross-border attacks after the network's Saudi and Yemeni branches merged in January. Washington has openly expressed concern that Yemen could fall apart and become another Afghanistan with an open door for al-Qaida.
Saudi Arabia has launched a fierce campaign against al-Qaida, killing or capturing most of its leaders after the militants launched in 2003 a string of attacks targeting foreigners and the oil infrastructure.