In a swift and telling victory, Saudi anti-terror forces killed al-Qaeda's top leader in the kingdom in a fierce dawn gun battle Sunday. But despite the Moroccan terrorist's death, the number of extremists continues to grow in the face of the US-ally's two-year crackdown on militants.
The 90-minute battle in the eastern Rawdah district, an upscale neighborhood in the capital Riyadh, was the latest blow dealt to Osama bin Laden's group, whose top leaders have either been killed or captured since authorities launched an offensive against it in 2003.
Moroccan Younis Mohammed Ibrahim al-Hayari was killed in a dawn raid by security forces on an area where suspected militants were hiding, an Interior Ministry official was quoted by Saudi Press Agency as saying.
Three other suspected militants were arrested said a security official on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. He said the three men were on a recently issued list of 36 most wanted terrorists.
SPA, quoting an unidentified official, reported that al-Hayari headed bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network in the kingdom.
"He [al-Hayari] was nominated by his peers, and following the death of those preceding him, to be the head of sedition and corruption in the land," the official said in the SPA report.
Al-Hayari topped a list issued on Tuesday of 36 most-wanted militants sought for participation in previous terror attacks in the kingdom dating back to 2003. On Wednesday, Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef warned of the possibility of more attacks.
"Of course this Moroccan is on the list, the other three no, but they were known by the security apparatus," Nayef said in comments carried by the Saudi Press Agency. "The Moroccan is among the dangerous, but there are others who are no less dangerous," he said.
"God willing we will reach the rest with the same ways and methods," he said as he visited the wounded at a hospital Sunday.
"They killed the leader less than four days after they issued the list. That is a major victory, both on the intelligence and the logistical levels. It's a major intelligence breakthrough," said Mustafa Alani, a terrorism expert at the Dubai-based Gulf Research Center.
He said that there was clearly a leadership crisis within the terror group in the kingdom, and al-Hayari's killing will have a negative impact on the ability of the group to operate.
"There is clearly a leadership vacuum in the kingdom for Saudi Arabia and this will demoralize the members who are in hiding," he said.
Al-Hayari was believed to have had close ties to Abdul Karim al-Majati, an al-Qaeda leader killed in April. The Interior Ministry official said security forces conducted two simultaneous operations in eastern Riyadh to capture suspects and killed al-Hayari after a shoot-out, while arresting three other suspected militants who were not identified.
It said the first operation ended with two suspects surrendering without incident. But in the second raid, militants fired at troops and lobbed grenades before al-Hayari was killed and another extremist was arrested.
"The two operations have concluded, but we will continue to pursue all the terrorists," Interior Ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Mansour al-Turki said.
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