FOCUS ON SAUDI ARABIA
Submitted by Templar Titan on Tue, 06/08/2004 - 21:20.
Al Qaida describes cell strategy to topple Saudis, |
|
"Working in cities needs small groups comprising no more than four people," Al Muqrin said in statement posted on several Arabic-language websites. "The activists must be residents of this city to avoid spies and suspicious eyes." Al Muqrin, who succeeded the late Khaled Al Haj, discussed the recruitment and planning of Saudi attacks. He suggested that the Al Qaida network in the kingdom was highly compartmentalized in wake of reversals sustained by the movement in 2003. "Most groups waging holy war have made the mistake of telling everyone everything about our operations," Al Muqrin said. "Only the group leader should know what is going on but everyone else should only be told about their role. For example, those who will conduct explosions should only be told about the explosion." Al Muqrin has raised his profile over the last month amid a series of Al Qaida attacks against Western targets and security installations. In May, Al Qaida claimed responsibility for the killing of about 20 Westerners, most of them connected to Saudi Arabia's oil industry. Experts on Al Qaida said defeating Saudi Arabia has become a major goal in the organization's war against the United States. Al Qaida views the Saudi royal family as an extension of U.S. interests in the Gulf region. "For them, the control of Saudi territory is important for achieving success against the U.S. for two reasons," said B. Raman, a former Indian cabinet secretary and leading analyst. "Firstly, Saudi Arabia could act as a rear base for the anti-U.S. jihad in Iraq just as Pakistan had served as a rear base for the anti-Soviet jihad in Afghanistan. Secondly, they can use Saudi oil as a jihadi weapon in their attempts to bring about the collapse of the Western economy." Raman, director of the South Asia Analysis Group, said Al Qaida has been supported in its campaign against the kingdom by Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi, the most lethal insurgent in Iraq. Raman said Al Zarqawi has been exercising command and control in anti-Saudi operations. _____ Saudis yield to terrorists, EU weighs its continued presence ABU DHABI - Saudi commandos allowed Al Qaida insurgents to flee a foreign compound to halt the execution of Western hostages. Saudi security sources confirmed that a National Guard special operations forces unit agreed to an offer by Al Qaida gunmen to end the execution of Western hostages in the Oasis compound in exchange for a safe exit. The sources said three of the four Al Qaida operatives managed to drive in a car for nearby Dammam. The sources said about 40 Saudi commandos landed on the roof of the compound early on May 30 and engaged in a shootout with Al Qaida insurgents. Within the first hour, two of the commandos were killed and eight were injured. At that point, the sources said, the insurgents gathered Westerners into a room and threatened to blow up the building unless they were allowed to flee. The Saudi commando force, which had earlier blocked the entry of a carload of explosives, kept advancing. The gunmen then began executing the hostages while repeating their offer. The sources said the commander of the Saudi force radioed his superior, who agreed to the offer to avoid the death of all the hostages. At least 16 hostages, most of them Westerners, were killed during the 24-hour ordeal. "Our main priority was the hostages," a security source said. On May 31, Saudi security forces surrounded a mosque in Khobar where the Al Qaida abductors were said to have been holed up. Witnesses said the insurgents were again allowed to escape. An Islamic preacher was arrested on suspicion of having harbored the insurgents. Western diplomatic sources said the deal reached between Al Qaida and the commandos could explain the success of the insurgents to escape previous Saudi raids. The sources said Al Qaida insurgents have been repeatedly allowed to escape in most of the gun battles with security forces over the last two months. Now, however, witnesses are providing new information that casts doubts on the reports by the Saudi Interior Ministry that only four Al Qaida insurgents were involved in the attack. Witnesses said that at least three of the gunmen escaped the Oasis compound more than two hours before the Saudi security forces raid on May 30. In the aftermath of the hostage drama, the European Union has quietly decided to review its presence in Saudi Arabia. European Union diplomats have decided to hold a series of meetings to discuss security measures needed to protect EU nationals in the kingdom. The meetings were decided on amid Al Qaida's campaign against Westerners and security forces in Saudi Arabia. The first meeting by EU consuls and security personnel began on June 1 in Riyad. Diplomatic sources said the discussions would focus on measures to protect embassies and consulates as well as recommendations for EU nationals in the kingdom. The second meeting will take place on June 6. This meeting will be headed by EU ambassadors, who intend to discuss security in a session at the Irish embassy in Riyad. The security measures being discussed also include protecting EU diplomats who live in the so-called Diplomatic Quarter in Riyad, where most Western countries maintain diplomatic missions. The diplomatic sources said security has been increased significantly over the last few months amid repeated warnings of an Al Qaida strike. Saudi authorities have responded to EU requests for increased security in the Diplomatic Quarter. The National Guard has employed additional officers and deployed checkpoints, concrete barriers and several armored personnel carriers to cover each entrance to the area. The sources said each of the EU embassies has warned its nationals to increase their vigilance and review their need to remain in Saudi Arabia. Several Western countries, including Australia and Britain, have recommended that nationals leave the kingdom. Sources said some plan to relocate in neighboring Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. "They [Al Qaida attacks] are clearly possible," said Sherard Cowper-Coles, British ambassador to Saudi Arabia. "I will go further than that: they are probable. There is an active terrorist campaign here and we know that Westerners are targets, as are members of the regime and security forces." Several EU nationals were killed in the Al Qaida strike at a Western housing and office complex outside Khobar on May 29 and 30. The EU does not have a mission in Khobar, but embassies rushed consuls and other staffers to Khobar during the hostage crisis, in which 22 people were killed. _____ Saudis introduce new, elite rapid reaction force ABU DHABI - Saudi Arabia has established a new security force to battle Al Qaida. Authorities have established a rapid reaction force to confront a range of operational scenarios, Saudi officials said. The force, established by the Civil Defense Directorate, would be trained and equipped to respond to insurgency attacks and natural disasters. "We now have a special force whose members are highly trained and equipped with the most sophisticated equipment to deal with terrorist attacks," said Maj. Gen. Saad Al Tuwaijri, director of the new force. Al Tuwaijri said most of the new security force members have received what he termed advanced training abroad, including responding to chemical attacks, bombings, fires and natural disasters. Officials said a helicopter fleet to enable rapid response would back the force. Six helicopter bases would be constructed for logistics support. The bases are being built in Al Qassim, Al Jawf, Al Baha, Jizan and Al Qassim and the northern frontier. So far, no helicopter platform has been chosen. But officials said Civil Defense officials have been examining helicopters in Britain, France, Russia and the United States. Civil Defense is part of the Interior Ministry. In April, the Saudi National Guard and Interior Ministry used helicopters to locate and trap Al Qaida insurgents in the mountains northeast of Riyad. The kingdom has determined that it requires scores of additional helicopters for its war against Al Qaida. Meanwhile, Saudi security officials said they have failed to eliminate an Al Qaida cell in the northern part of the kingdom. The officials acknowledged that the cell has withstood several operations by security forces in Al Qassim in the northern kingdom. The cell is believed based in Buraida, about 400 kilometers north of Riyad. On May 24, Saudi security officers battled Al Qaida gunmen for three hours in Buraida but failed to capture any insurgents. The police tracked Al Qaida operatives in the city and surrounded a suspected hideout. Officers hurled tear gas in an effort to force the insurgents out of the stronghold. The house was monitored by National Guard helicopters flying above but the insurgents were said to have fled Buraida. Saudi security sources said a leading Al Qaida fugitive was determined to have been in the targeted building. He was identified as Bandar Al Dakheel, No. 18 out of the top 26 insurgents wanted by the kingdom. Last week, Saudi authorities reported that Al Dakheel had been killed in a battle with security forces. It was the second clash between Al Qaida and security forces in Buraida in less than a week. On May 20, four Al Qaida gunmen and a Saudi officer were killed in a shootout in the city. Buraida has been regarded as an Al Qaida stronghold. Interior Ministry authorities in Al Qassim captured equipment to produce grenades during Monday's raid. The equipment can also be used to plant explosives in cars. In other developments, Saudi authorities have arrested three suspected Al Qaida insurgents in connection with the killing of a German national in Riyad on May 22. The three suspects were captured in Onaiza, west of Riyad. _____ Source: Geostrategy |
