Leader of Saudi Terrorist Attack Was Al-Qaeda Trained, BBC Says

Date: June 01, 2004
Source: Bloomberg.com


June 1 (Bloomberg) -- The leader of a terrorist gang captured after a weekend attack in Saudi Arabia that killed 22 people was trained by al-Qaeda, the British Broadcasting Corp said, citing unidentified Saudi security officials.

The gunman, who was wounded in the attack, was trained at al- Qaeda camps in Afghanistan and was on Saudi Arabia's list of wanted terrorists, the BBC cited the officials as saying. Three other members of the gang escaped Sunday after security forces stormed a housing complex used by international workers in the city of Khobar 400 kilometers (250 miles) east of the capital, Riyadh, and freed more than 40 hostages.

A statement purportedly issued on Sunday by the al-Qaeda terrorist network said it carried out the attack to ``cleanse the Arabian peninsula of infidels,'' the BBC reported. The attack was the third in May against Western targets in the country.

Saudi Arabia will fight the ``blight'' of terrorism, the official Saudi Press Agency reported, citing King Fahd as telling a cabinet meeting yesterday. The Saudi government blamed al-Qaeda for suicide bombings at residential complexes in Riyadh in May and November last year that killed 43 people.


To contact the reporter on this story:
Paul Tighe in Sydney or at [email protected]

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Paul Tighe at [email protected]

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