Free Republic

113 Saudi troops martyred since Nov. 5 RIYADH – The Saudi army has lost 113 troops since the Kingdom launched a sweeping offensive against infiltrators in early November, a military commander said in comments published Thursday. The Al-Riyadh newspaper quoted Maj. Gen. Ali Zaid Al-Khawaji as saying the dead include a senior Saudi officer whose body was found with those of two soldiers after a battle last week to drive rebels out of a border village. The latest toll is a significant jump from last week, when Prince Khaled Bin Sultan, Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation for Military Affairs,...

JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia - Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi urged Islamic countries Thursday to "stand as one group" against terrorists and voiced support for formation of Saudi-led Muslim force to help stabilize his country. In Cairo, the Arab League said any such force would only be acceptable if ordered by the U.N. Security Council and linked to a specific timetable for withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq (news - web sites). The Iraqi official told a news conference here that the region's leaders should unify and "stand as one group" against "those gangs, those terrorists and those criminals" who he...