Posted on 06/26/2003 1:55:33 PM PDT by RoughDobermann
Edited on 06/26/2003 2:39:15 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
Moderator update @5:12 pm EDT:
WASHINGTON, June 26 (Reuters) - The mastermind of the May bombings in Riyadh has been taken into custody in Saudi Arabia, a U.S. official and a source close to the Saudi Embassy in Washington said on Thursday.
The Saudi-related source said the suspect, Ali Abdul Rachman Al-Gamdi, also known as Abu Bakr al-Azdi, a senior Saudi-based al Qaeda operative, surrendered to Saudi authorities. But the U.S. official said the man was "captured."
"The mastermind of the Saudi bombings has surrendered to Saudi authorities," said the embassy-related source, who asked not to be identified further.
"He has given himself up today and is now in the custody of the Saudis in Saudi Arabia," he said, adding that further details were not immediately available.
But the U.S. official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, challenged that description, saying the suspect had been caught.
Car bombs on May 12 ripped apart buildings and homes in three compounds in Riyahd inhabited by Americans and other Westerners, killing 34 people.
The devastating attack shattered any sense that Saudi Arabia might be immune to extremist fundamentalist who have declared war against the United States and also on the kingdom.
It also increased pressure on Saudi Arabia to crack down more intensely on Saudi-based al Qaeda elements and those who helped to finance the group, which is blamed for the Sept 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
Al-Gamdi was thought to be planning operations against U.S. targets, possibly within Saudi Arabia or perhaps elsewhere.
He fought on the frontlines of Afghanistan and was believed to be present at the beginning of the battle of Tora Bora but left before the heavy U.S. bombing of that area began, a U.S. official said.
He has been linked to key al Qaeda leaders including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and would have been very knowledgeable about al Qaeda activities within Saudi Arabia.
He is close to 30 years old, believed to be born around 1974.
Moderator update @5:39 pm EDT:
Officials: Saudi Blast Mastermind Caught
By JOHN J. LUMPKIN
WASHINGTON (AP) - An al-Qaida mastermind of the May 12 terrorist bombing in Riyadh has been arrested in Saudi Arabia, U.S. and Saudi officials said Thursday.
Ali Abd al-Rahman al-Faqasi al-Ghamdi surrendered to police, according to an official with the Saudi interior ministry, according to state-run Radio Riyadh.
U.S. counterterrorism officials predicted the arrest would severely hamper al-Qaida's operations in Saudi Arabia.
He was one of the top al-Qaida operatives in the kingdom, officials said. The Saudi, around 30 years old, fought with al-Qaida in the U.S.-war in Afghanistan.
Also known as Abu Bakr al-Azdi, he was at Tora Bora, where Osama bin Laden was thought to be hiding, in late 2001, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. He left before the U.S. bombing began.
Officials say he has been linked to Saif al-Adil and Abu Mohamed al-Masri, two of the most senior al-Qaida operatives who remain at large. U.S. officials have said both are thought to be hiding in Iran.
Al-Ghamdi was also an associate of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the alleged Sept. 11 mastermind now in U.S. custody, the officials said.
In the May 12 attack, gunmen and suicide bombers attacked three housing compounds populated by Westerners and other foreigners. Nine attackers and 25 victims were killed.
On May 16, in Casablanca, Morocco, a dozen suicide bombers, using crude homemade explosives stuffed into backpacks, blew themselves up at five locations, killing 29 victims.
Officials said the two attacks were probably ordered by top al-Qaida operatives to demonstrate the group was still viable. More strikes were feared but have not materialized.
Al-Ghamdi was also among the 19 alleged militants wanted since Saudi police discovered a weapons cache in Riyadh early last month.
``Justice will take its course within the framework of the laws,'' Saudi radio quoted the Interior Ministry official as saying.
Late last month, Saudi news organizations and some U.S. publications, including The Washington Post, reported that he had been arrested in Medina along with three other people. The reports said Gamdi and two suspects were arrested after they left an Internet cafe, where they were planning an attack on a major hotel and commercial center in Riyadh. U.S. officials said yesterday that they knew the report was inaccurate but chose not to dispute it.
The Saudi Press Agency carried the names of the 12 identified bombers. Five of those named were Saudis on a wanted list issued before the May 12 attacks which killed 35 people. Al-Qaeda terror network has been blamed for the attacks in which armed assailants drove into the compounds and detonated car bombs.
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