Print

Mail

wiki links

Saudis arrest suspected bombings mastermind

"We have to acknowledge we have a disease called terrorism. "

Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal

The mastermind of the May bombings in Riyadh has been taken into custody in Saudi Arabia, US and Saudi officials said on Thursday.

Saudi officials said the suspect, Ali Abdulrachman Saeed al-Faqa'asi Al-Ghamdi, also known as Abu Bakr al-Azdi, a senior Saudi-based al-Qaeda operative, surrendered to the Saudi assistant minister of interior for security affairs.

But the US official said the man was "captured."

"This is a major arrest and a huge victory in the war against terrorism," Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi ambassador to the US, said in a statement.

"Al-Ghamdi is in custody and under interrogation. We hope that our interrogations will provide information that will lead to additional arrests," he added.

The US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, challenged the Saudi's notion of surrender, saying the suspect was caught.

Nevertheless, "This is a very serious blow to al-Qaeda," the official said. "This was a key al-Qaeda figure in the kingdom and has knowledge of ongoing and future terrorist planning and also would know al-Qaeda operatives and Saudi cells."

"It's very significant. ... He is believed to have played a key role in the planning and execution of the Riyadh bombings," he added.

Car bombs on May 12 ripped apart buildings and homes in three compounds in Riyadh inhabited by Americans and other Westerners, killing 35 people, including eight Americans.

The devastating attack shattered any sense that Saudi Arabia might be immune to the extremist fundamentalists who have declared war against the US and also on the kingdom.

It also increased pressure on Saudi Arabia to crack down more intensely on Saudi-based al-Qaeda elements and those who helped to finance the group, which is blamed for the Sept. 11 attacks on the US.

A senior member of Saudi Arabia's ruling family said after the blast that the royal house must not flinch from acknowledging it had a serious problem with a violent Islamic opposition.

"It's time to face reality head-on. There's no need to procrastinate, no room for error," Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said. "We have to acknowledge we have a disease called terrorism. There's no doubt about that any more."

Stung by US criticism his government was not doing enough to control the extremists, Crown Prince Abdullah, the kingdom's de facto ruler, promised to make the suicide bombers pay and allowed American FBI and CIA agents to join the hunt.

More than 40 suspected "terrorists" have been arrested in the kingdom since the May 12 Riyadh bombings, Saudi officials say.

Al-Ghamdi was thought to be planning operations against US targets, possibly within Saudi Arabia or perhaps elsewhere.

He fought on the frontlines of Afghanistan and was believed to be present at the beginning of the battle of Tora Bora but left before the heavy US bombing of that area began, a US official said.
This story has been viewed 1549 times.