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Top Saudi Arabian terrorist captured

Security forces have arrested the most wanted terrorist in Saudi Arabia, the official Saudi Press Agency said yesterday.

Faris Ahmed Jamaan al-Showeel al-Zahrani was arrested on Thursday night with another person whose identity could not be disclosed at this stage, an unidentified Interior Ministry official told the agency. The arrest had been reported without sources on the pan-Arab TV channel al-Arabiya late on Thursday. The Saudi-owned station said police detained al-Zahrani in Abha, a town 800km southwest of the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

A cleric, al-Zahrani was No. 12 on the kingdom's list of the 26 most wanted terror suspects. He rose to prominence as the security forces detained, or killed in gunbattles, about half of the suspects on the list.

Another indication of his significance was given by Islamic Web sites where sympathizers posted messages yesterday regretting his arrest and asking God to give al-Zahrani strength.

The Interior Ministry official described al-Zahrani as "one of the heads of strife, a preacher of denouncing people as infidels." Islamic militants often label their enemies as infidels before they attack them.

The official did not describe the arrest, but said al-Zahrani and his accomplice were detained "swiftly and efficiently," and were not able to use the weapons they were carrying.

"The Interior Ministry wishes to emphasize to all people that the security forces are determined to pursue the terrorists, get them out of their holes, and apply God's law to them," the official added.

The Saudi authorities launched a nationwide hunt for terror suspects, detaining hundreds of people, after a coordinated series of suicide bombings in May last year. The kingdom suffered major attacks in November and April-May this year, including the kidnapping and killing of Westerners.

Saudi and US officials have blamed the attacks on the al-Qaeda terror group, which is led by the Saudi-born Osama bin Laden, and militants of similar anti-Western ideology.

A militant Web site known for carrying militants' statements bore several messages early yesterday about al-Zahrani's detention.

"God strengthen Faris al-Zahrani's heart. Make him calm and support him. As he championed righteousness and waged holy war for your sake, God, support him and don't let the infidels get to him [psychologically]," said a site contributor who used the pen name Ishraqet Amal, or "Dawn of Hope."
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