Saudi Arabia Arrests Suspected Al-Qaeda Suspects

By Ahmad Shihadah
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – More than 100 suspected militants linked to Al-Qaeda have been arrested in Saudi Arabia, officials have said.

A statement from the ministry on Wednesday said the suspects were plotting attacks on oil and security installations in the kingdom. One cell consisted of 101 people, and two smaller cells were made up of six men each, it said.

The large cell comprised 47 Saudis and 51 Yemenis, as well as a Somali, a Bangladeshi and an Eritrean, the statement read out on state television said. The two smaller groups were made up of 11 Saudis and a Yemeni, who security officials described as being a prominent member of al-Qaeda.

Saudi Arabia stepped up its anti-terrorism fight against Al-Qaeda in 2004 after militants struck an oil installation and stormed a housing complex in the Persian Gulf city of Al-Khobar, killing 22 foreign workers. Those attacks were seen as an effort to destabilize the ruling al-Saud family.

The Interior Ministry said the new arrests followed an investigation in the wake of an incident in October in which two suspected al-Qaeda militants were killed in a gunfight after entering the kingdom from Yemen.

The threat from Yemen has gained global attention since the terrorist group’s local branch claimed responsibility for a Dec. 25 plot in which Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was charged with trying to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight with 278 passengers as it approached Detroit.

Al-Qaeda’s Saudi and Yemeni branches merged in January last year after the Saudi crackdown forced militants to flee. Saudi Arabia shares a 1,500-kilometer (930-mile) border with Yemen, the poorest Arab nation.

Riyadh is especially concerned about the resurgence of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Yemen. In September, Michael Leiter, the director of the US National Counterterrorism Centre (NCTC), said the AQAP had gained a dangerous foothold in Yemen.

“We have witnessed the re-emergence of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, with Yemen as a key battleground and potential regional base of operations from which al-Qaeda can plan attacks, train recruits and facilitate the movement of operatives,” Leiter said

For more information, please see:

 Al-Jazeera – Saudi ‘Al-Qaeda Suspects’ Arrested – 25 March 2010

BusinessWeek – Saudi Arabia Busts ‘Terror Cells’ Plotting Oil Attack – 25 March 2010

BBC News – Saudi Arabia Detains Dozens of ‘Al-Qaeda Militants’ – 24 March 2010

Christian Science Monitor – Saudi Arabia Announces Arrest of 110 Al-Qaeda Suspects – 24 March 2010

Author: Impunity Watch Archive