Saudi security units renewed their house-to-house search for militants in Riyadh on Sunday as officials claimed significant progress in the battle against al-Qaeda.
Four militants killed on Friday night included Abd al-Aziz al-Muqrin, who was regarded as the leading al-Qaeda figure in the kingdom, and his alleged deputy, Faisal al-Dakheel.
They were found in a car in the Malaz district of the capital, Adel al-Jubeir, the foreign affairs adviser to Crown Prince Abdullah, said in Washington. The resulting gun battle lasted several hours.
”We have substantially weakened the organisation … We will continue to pursue them with vigour until we eliminate them from our midst,” he said.
Saudi units clashed with suspected militants again on Sunday night and poured troops and vehicles into the Malaz district, but there was no word on any arrests.
Friday’s clash happened shortly after Muqrin’s group announced on the internet that it had killed Paul Johnson, a 49-year-old United States engineer taken hostage six days earlier, and posted three photographs of what appeared to be his beheaded body. His remains have not yet been found.
Saudi officials say a further 12 suspects were arrested, including one allegedly involved in the attack on the USS Cole in Yemen four years ago, which killed 17 US sailors. One source told Reuters it was ”a massive blow to the militants”.
But, worryingly, the militants said they were able to kidnap Johnson by posing as Saudi police, using uniforms and vehicles supplied by disaffected security personnel.
Muqrin and Dakheel headed a list of 26 most-wanted militants issued by Saudi officials last December. Ten of those have been killed or captured.
Muqrin’s group, which calls itself ”Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula”, has been blamed for a number of recent attacks.
One of those killed on Friday was identified as Turki al-Mutairi, who took part in a shooting and hostage-taking in al-Khobar last month; another was Ibrahim al-Draihem, who was implicated in the bombing of a Riyadh housing compound which killed 17 people last November.
The interior ministry has linked Muqrin’s group to a car allegedly used in the shooting on June 6 which killed an Irish cameraman, Simon Cumbers, and critically wounded a BBC reporter, Frank Gardner.
Muqrin was regarded as one of al-Qaeda’s most experienced leaders. His death is a severe blow to al-Qaeda, but opinion is divided on whether it will lessen the danger to foreigners in Saudi Arabia. Kevin Rosser, a security analyst, said: ”The Saudis are facing something much bigger than one man or a small group.”
The Algerian military has killed the leader of an Islamic rebel organisation with ties to al-Qaeda, the army said on Sunday. Nabil Sahraoui was among several people killed in an anti-terrorist operation. – Guardian Unlimited Â