Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard,
May 29, 2004
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On May 30, 2004, the Interior Ministry reported that the terrorist attack in Al-Khobar the day before had resulted in the deaths of 22 people, including one American and three Saudis. During the operation to rescue 41 hostages, the leader of the terrorist group was wounded and apprehended. Security forces are searching for the three other terrorists, one of whom was also wounded.
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On May 20, 2004, security forces killed four terrorist suspects and injured another in a gunfight in Qasim Province. The security forces came under heavy fire from machineguns after locating five terrorist suspects in a rest house in Khudairah, a village in the area of Buraidah. Two security officers were killed. Weapons and ammunition were confiscated
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On May 3, 2004, the Ministry of Interior announced the names of the four terrorists who carried out an attack on May 1 in Yanbu that killed eight people and wounded 20 others. They belonged to one family: two brothers and their two uncles. They were Sameer Sulaiman Alansari, Sami Sulaiman Alansari and Ayman Abdulqader Alansari. All four terrorists were killed by security forces.
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On April 23, 2004, the Ministry of Interior identified four of the five terror suspects killed on April 22 as Ahmad Abdulrahman Saqr Alfadhli, Khalid Mobarak Habeeb-Allah Alqurashi, Mostafa Ibrahim Mohammad Mobaraki, and Talal A'nbar Ahmad A'nbari, numbers 23, 11, 25, and 13 on the most wanted list published on December 6, 2003. They were killed following a shootout with security forces in the Al-Safa neighborhood in Jeddah.
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On April 18, 2004, the Ministry of Interior issued a statement explaining the developments following the incidents on April 12 and 13, 2004; confirming that security forces had seized two trucks loaded with 4,118 kilograms of explosives ready for detonation, plus a car full of weapons; and adding that various other items and weapons had also been seized at different locations. Eight suspects have been arrested in connection with these events.
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On March 15, 2004, security forces killed one of Saudi Arabia’s most wanted terror suspects: Khalid Ali Ali-Haj, who was on the December 6 list of wanted terrorist suspects. Ali-Haj was a Yemeni national who trained at Al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan where he worked closely with Osama bin Laden. Security forces searched his car and found six hand grenades, two Kalashnikov assault rifles, ten Kalashnikov ammunition magazines, three 9-mm pistols and the equivalent of about $137,000 in cash.
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On February 22, 2004, the Ministry of Interior confirmed the death of A'amir Mohsin Moreef Al Zaidan Alshihri, who was on the December 6 list of wanted terrorist suspects. He died some time after being wounded during a clash with police in Riyadh on November 6, 2003. The body was recently recovered from where it was buried, just outside the city, and DNA tests proved that it was Alshihri.
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On January 30, 2004, Saudi Arabia honored six security men and one civilian who were killed during a counter-terrorism operation. Since May of last year, 16 members of Saudi security forces have been killed and 31 injured in counter-terrorism operations.
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On January 30, 2004, the Ministry of Interior announced that security forces had stormed a rest house in Al-Siliye district in the east of the city of Riyadh, arrested seven suspects and seized a number of items including a car rigged with explosives, five rocket-propelled grenade launchers, seven machine guns, 11 pistols, five hand grenades, 21 detonators, military uniforms, and ammunition.
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On January 12, 2004, the Ministry of Interior announced that, over the past six months, large quantities of ammunition and weapons have been seized. The total weight of confiscated explosives is 23,893 kilograms. In addition, 301 rocket-propelled grenades together with launchers, 431 homemade grenades, 304 explosive belts (ready for use by suicide bombers), 674 detonators, 1,020 small arms and 352,398 rounds of ammunition were confiscated. The Ministry of Interior also called on everyone in Saudi Arabia to cooperate in fighting terrorism and extremism.
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On December 30, 2003, Mansoor Mohammad Ahmad Faqeeh, whose name had been published in a December 6 list of 26 wanted terrorist suspects, surrendered to security authorities.
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On December 8, 2003, the Ministry of Interior announced that Ibrahim Mohammad Abdullah Alrayis, whose name was on the December 6 list, had been killed by security forces. The Ministry statement praised citizens’ cooperation with the security forces, who are pursuing those wanted and those who are trying to undermine the country’s security and safety.
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On December 6, 2003, the Ministry of Interior published the names and photos of 26 suspects wanted by security forces in connection with the terrorist incidents that have taken place in the Kingdom in the past few months, urging them to surrender to the authorities. The Ministry called on all citizens and residents to report information they may have about any of the wanted suspects. Immediate financial rewards of up to $1.9 million are being offered for information leading to the arrest of any wanted suspect, or any other terrorist elements and cells.
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On November 26, 2003, a suspected terrorist was arrested. The suspect’s hiding place was linked to the terrorist cell involved in the November 9 car bombing at the Al-Muhaya residential complex in Riyadh. Search of the hiding place revealed large quantities of arms and documents. Items discovered by security forces include one SAM-7 surface-to-air missile, five rocket-propelled grenade launchers, 384 kilogram of the powerful explosive RDX, 89 detonators, 20 hand grenades, eight AK-47 assault rifles, 41 AK-47 magazines, and 16,800 rounds of ammunition. Also recovered were four wireless communication devices, three computers, computer disks and CDs, and SR 94,395 in cash, as well as numerous identity cards and leaflets calling for the perpetration of acts of terror.
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On November 25, 2003, a car bomb plot was foiled in Riyadh. The encounter with security forces led to the deaths of two wanted terrorist suspects: Abdulmohsin Abdulaziz Alshabanat, who was killed in the exchange of fire, and Mosaed Mohammad Dheedan Alsobaiee, who committed suicide by detonating the hand grenade he was carrying. The vehicle that was seized was loaded with explosives and camouflaged as a military vehicle.
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On November 20, 2003, Abdullah bin Atiyyah bin Hudeid Al-Salami surrendered to security authorities. He was wanted for suspected terrorist activities.
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On November 6, 2003, security forces investigating a suspected terrorist cell in the Al-Suwaidi district of the city of Riyadh came under fire from the suspects, who attempted to flee while attacking security forces with machine guns and bombs. In the exchange of fire, one terrorist was killed and eight of the security officers suffered minor injuries. On the same day, in the Al-Shara'ei district of the city of Makkah, two terrorist suspects, who were surrounded by security forces, used home-made bombs to blow themselves up. Their suicide followed a firefight during which they refused to surrender when requested by the security officers.
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On November 3, 2003, Saudi police arrested six suspected Al-Qaeda militants after a shootout in the holy city of Makkah. The raid on an apartment triggered a shootout that left two suspected terrorists dead, and one security officer wounded.
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On October 20, 2003, security forces raided several terrorist cells in various parts of the country, including the city of Riyadh, the Al-Majma’a District in Riyadh Province, Makkah Province, the Jeddah District of Makkah Province, and Qasim Province. Security forces confiscated items including C4 plastic explosives, home-made bombs, gas masks, and large quantities of assault rifles and ammunition.
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On October 8, 2003, security forces raided a farm in the northern Muleda area of Qasim Province and were able to arrest a suspect. Three other suspects fled the scene. Two security officers suffered injuries.
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On October 5, 2003, security forces arrested three suspects during a raid in the desert to the east of Riyadh.
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On September 23, 2003, security forces surrounded a group of suspected terrorists in an apartment in the city of Jizan. During a gun battle, one security officer was killed and four officers injured. Two suspects were arrested and one killed. The suspects were armed with machine guns and pistols and a large quantity of ammunition.
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On July 28, 2003, security forces killed six terrorist suspects and injured one in a gunfight at a farm in Qasim Province, 220 miles north of the capital, Riyadh. Two security officers were killed and eight suffered minor injuries. Four people who harbored the suspects were arrested.
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On July 25, 2003, three men were arrested at a checkpoint in Makkah for possessing printed material that included a “religious edict” in support of terrorist acts against Western targets.
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On July 21, 2003, the Minister of Interior announced that Saudi authorities had defused terrorist operations which were about to be carried out against vital installations and arrested 16 members of a number of terrorist cells after searching their hideouts in farms and houses in Riyadh Province, Qasim Province and the Eastern Province. In addition, underground storage facilities were found at these farms and homes containing bags, weighing over 20 tons, filled with chemicals used in the making of explosives.
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On July 3, 2003, Turki Nasser Mishaal Aldandany, a top Al-Qaeda operative and one of the masterminds of the May 12 bombings, was killed along with three other suspects in a gun battle with security forces that had them surrounded.
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On June 26, 2003, Ali Abdulrahman Said Alfagsi Al-Ghamdi, a.k.a. Abu Bakr Al-Azdi, surrendered to Saudi authorities. Al-Ghamdi, considered one of the top Al-Qaeda operatives in Saudi Arabia, is suspected of being one of the masterminds of the May 12 bombings in Riyadh.
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On June 14, 2003, security forces raided a terrorist cell in the Alattas building in the Khalidiya neighborhood of Makkah. Two Saudi police officers and five suspects were killed in a shootout. Twelve suspects were arrested, and a number of booby-trapped Qur’ans and 72 home-made bombs, in addition to weapons, ammunition, and masks were confiscated.
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On May 31, 2003, Yousif Salih Fahad Al-Ayeeri, a.k.a. Swift Sword, a major Al-Qaeda operational planner and fundraiser, was killed while fleeing from a security patrol.
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On May 27-28, 2003, eleven suspects were taken into custody in the city of Madinah. Weapons, false identity cards and bomb-making materials were confiscated. In addition, Saudi national Abdulmonim Ali Mahfouz Al-Ghamdi was arrested, following a car chase. Three non-Saudi women without identity cards, who were in the car he was driving, were detained.
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In May 2003, three clerics, Ali Fahd Al-Khudair, Ahmed Hamoud Mufreh Al-Khaledi and Nasir Ahmed Al-Fuhaid, were arrested after calling for support of the terrorists who carried out the Riyadh attacks. In November 2003, Ali Fahd Al-Khudair recanted his religions opinions on Saudi TV. Shortly after, a second cleric, Nasir Ahmed Al-Fuhaid, recanted and withdrew his religious opinions describing them as a “grave mistake”. On December 16, 2003, Ahmed Hamoud Mufreh Al-Khaledi became the third cleric to recant on national television.
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On February 27, 2004, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz issued a royal order approving the creation of the Saudi National Commission for Relief and Charity Work Abroad, which, in order to eliminate any misdeed that might undermine Saudi charitable operations, is charged exclusively with responsibility for all donations and contributions outside the Kingdom.
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On January 29, 2004, one week after Saudi Arabia and the United States requested the designation of four branch offices of the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, the United Nations Security Council announced that Al-Haramain’s offices in Indonesia, Pakistan, Kenya and Tanzania had been added to its consolidated list of terrorists tied to Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and the Taliban. Now that these offices are under UN sanctions, member states are obligated to take legal action against them.
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On December 22, 2003, Saudi Arabia and the United States took steps to designate two organizations as financiers of terrorism under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267 (1999). These organizations are the Bosnia-based Vazir and the Liechtenstein-based Hochburg AG. Mr. Safet Durguti, a representative of the Vazir organization, has also been designated under the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions as a terrorist financier. This was the third joint action taken against terrorist financing by the United States Treasury Department and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
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In August 2003, the Council of Ministers approved new laws that include harsh penalties for the crimes of money laundering and terror financing.
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In May 2003, Saudi Arabia asked the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation and all Saudi charities to suspend activities outside Saudi Arabia until mechanisms are in place to adequately monitor and control funds so they cannot be misdirected for illegal purposes.
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Also in May 2003, SAMA instructed all banks and financial institutions in the Kingdom to stop all financial transfers by Saudi charities to any accounts outside the Kingdom.
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In February 2003, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) began to implement a major technical program to train judges and investigators on legal matters involving terrorism financing and money-laundering methods, international requirements for financial secrecy, and methods followed by criminals to exchange information.
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In March 2002, the U.S. Treasury Department and Saudi Arabia blocked the accounts of the Somalia and Bosnia branches of the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation. While the Saudi headquarters for this private charity is dedicated to helping those in need, it was determined that the Somalia and Bosnia branches supported terrorist activities and terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda and AIAI (al-Itihaad al-Islamiya).
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Saudi Arabia implemented the 40 Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations on the prevention of money laundering and the eight special recommendations on terrorist financing.
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Saudi Arabia has established a High Commission for oversight of all charities, contributions and donations.
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A Financial Intelligence Unit was established to monitor financial transactions to ensure that funds do not reach evildoers.
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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States took steps to freeze the assets of a close bin Laden aide, Wa’el Hamza Julaidan.
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Saudi Arabia has investigated numerous bank accounts suspected of having links to terrorism and has frozen more than 40 such accounts.
