Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. Thursday’s Winds of War briefings are given by me, Colt, of Eurabian Times.

TOP TOPICS

• Operation Matador - a major U.S. operation near the Syrian border. Joe has links. Chester is live-blogging it.

• Are Saudi oil installations rigged for destruction? Daniel Pipes comments.

• The ethnic rifts in al-Qaeda, and how our guys are exploiting it.

• A hand grenade was thrown at President Bush in Georgia. It did not explode.

• The Madrid bombers were trained in al-Qaeda camps in Bosnia.

Other Topics Today Include: Iran to restart enrichment; sanctions?; Hezbollah crushes revolt; Egyptian nuclear program?; PLO hasn’t policed up arms; PLO may need $7.7b; priority shifts in Iraq; Anbar governor kidnapped; 2 Saudi cops shot, wounded; Feds check terror link to ID bust; ‘would-be bomber’ released; Muslim who breaches British security for fun…; Chechen threatens more attacks; terror alert in Cyprus; North Korea threatens more plutonium harvesting; 23 dead jihadis in Afghanistan; Pakistani clerics voice support for Osama; Bush administration’s shame in Darfur; Somali sheikh wants Islamic state; and much more.

Read the Rest…

Updating a previous post, from the AFP via the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) :

Saudi Arabia said on Saturday its security forces had killed the Al Qaeda chief in the kingdom and the Moroccan mastermind of the Madrid train bombings in a three-day gunbattle which dealt a heavy blow to the terror network.

Saud al-Otaibi, “head of the gang” responsible for a string of shootings and bombings since May 2003, and Abdel Karim al-Mejati were among 15 extremists killed in Al-Qassim, some 320 kilometres north of Riyadh and viewed as a haven for Islamist militants, the interior ministry said.
[…]
The killing of Otaibi, whom the ministry portrayed as the militants’ chief and identified by his middle name of al-Qotaini, and Mejati, had previously been reported but not confirmed in an official statement.

U.S. citizens living in a residential compound in western Saudi Arabia have been put on high alert after the American Embassy issued an increased threat level warning, officials said Thursday.

The warning singled out the Sierra Village , on the outskirts of Jiddah , a Red Sea coastal city where tensions remain high following a Dec. 6 attack on the U.S. consulate by Islamic militants.

“Official Americans are relocating to an alternate location as a result of this threat,” according to a statement posted on the U.S. Embassy’s web site. An Embassy official confirmed the statement but declined to elaborate on the threat.

Read more…

This from a tip on our Tip Line Forum: Arab News reports that Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Sudais, imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, warned millions of pilgrims honoring Eid Al-Adha against heeding militant calls to wage terrorist attacks in the name of Islam.

He also advised Islamic scholars to preach moderation.

Islam is the religion of moderation. There is no room for extremism in Islam …

… protect non-Muslims in the Kingdom and not to attack them in the country or anywhere. Islam is a religion of peace that abhors attack on innocents …

… Because Muslims have strayed from moderation, we are now suffering from this dangerous phenomenon of branding people infidels and inciting Muslims to rise against their leaders to cause instability.

Well. That’s certainly what one would hope to hear preached to the masses, is it not? Let’s just hope someone is listening.

I also notice this story isn’t getting much attention. A quick Technorati search shows that Untold Millions has linked to it, but among MSM not one … not one … US outlet has noted his comments save Reuters. India, UK, South Africa, and Arab press only.

[update to this story]

Saudi security forces have killed seven militants suspected of involvement in twin car bombing attacks in Riyadh, reports Xinhua.

The seven were killed in an exchange of fire with Saudi security forces in northern Riyadh on Wednesday.

The militants were suspected of being involved in two car bombing attacks against the interior ministry and a security forces training camp on Wednesday.

Two large explosions shook the Saudi capital late Wednesday, the first believed to be from a car bomb that wounded several policeman and shattered windows at the Interior Ministry, followed by the second blast targeting a troop recruitment center, officials said. State television reported at least one bystander was killed.

At about the same time, Saudi security forces clashed with militants who fired small arms and threw grenades in a northern district of Riyadh, police said. Militants later holed up in a building surrounded by police. Six armored cars sealed off the area.

Read more…

The Jamestown Foundation has distributed a translation of Al Qaeda’s responsibility claim for the Jedda consulate attack. Jamestown’s email mentions that online Islamist forums are placing great significance on the attacks as a sign that Al Qaeda remains strong in Saudi Arabia. The statement claims two Americans were killed in the attack and that a video of the attack will soon appear.

The full translation is in the extended entry.

Declaration on the Operation
Against the American Consulate in Jeddah
(The “Fallujah Raid”)

Praise be to God, the Lord Of The Worlds, and a prayer and a greeting to the most noble of the Prophets and Messengers.

Almighty God said: “Lo! Those who disbelieve spend their wealth in order that they may debar (men) from the way of Allah. They will spend it, then it will become an anguish for them, then they will be conquered. And those who disbelieve will be gathered unto hell.” [Qur’an, VIII, 36]

In this time where the world’s nations have pounced upon the Muslims and when the Crusader infidel alliance, America, Israel and its henchmen, have marched forth against the Muslims, God brought forth a mujahid group to fight in His path, one that takes no heed of those who criticize, a group that has not ceased its operations against America and its Crusading allies since September 11th.

Among these operations the raid on the Crusader bases in Riyadh and al- Khobar were carried out in compliance with the recommendation of the Prophet, (God bless him and grant him peace) and as a continuation of the war with America and its agents. As a result of these more than 300 Crusaders have fallen.

And today, Monday 24 Shawwal 1425, your brothers in the Martyr Abu Anas al-Shami Squadron undertook the blessed ‘Fallujah Raid’, stormed one of the Crusader fortresses in the Arabian Peninsula and penetrated the stronghold of the American Consulate in Jeddah, through which the Land of the Two Shrines is ruled, the affairs of the Pilgrimage and the pilgrims are decided, and from which spies and cowards are disseminated.

After several hours your brothers affected their withdrawal from the consulate building and retired to a safe place. During the operation two of the heroic brothers (whom God receive unto Him) who were covering the withdrawal operation achieved martyrdom, and three other brothers were wounded and have undergone treatment. Your brothers were able to kill nine of the agents in the Consulate including two American thugs, they also killed seven of the soldiers allied to the tyrant, and wounded tens of others. Some of the consulate’s offices were destroyed and burnt. Bugging and communications devices were looted along with light weaponry, sophisticated electronic devices and some important documents.

God permitting, we will shortly be publishing details of this blessed raid and its results, and we will make a recording of the storming operation and the last testaments of the martyrs. This operation is one of a number undertaken by the Organization of al-Qaeda in the War against the Crusaders and Jews, and is part of the campaign to expel the polytheists from the Arabian Peninsula.

Know then that the Mujahideen are forging ahead with confidence on their way. They are not enfeebled by what they suffer in God’s path and are not cast down. Nay, by the Grace of God and His granting of success, they remain patient, and with God’s aid to victory they are not harmed by those who abandon them or oppose them.

Our final invocation is ‘Praise be to God the Lord of the Worlds.’

The Organization of Qaeda [the Base] of Jihad in the Arabian Peninsula

24 Shawwal 1425
December 6 2004

Al-Qaida claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack on the U.S. Consulate in the Saudi Red Sea port of Jeddah that left nine people dead.

A statement carried on an Islamic Web site and signed by the Qaida Network in the Arab Peninsula said, Your brothers succeeded in killing nine agents in the consulate including two American animals and seven treacherous policemen and wounding dozens.

The statement, authorship of which could not be authenticated, said the attackers were able to pull out of the consulate building after several hours and find shelter in a safe place. It claimed that two fighters became martyrs and three others were wounded.

Other updates:

• Attack Payback for Iraq:

The website said the daring midday raid had been dubbed “the blessed Fallujah battle”, referring to the former insurgent stronghold in Iraq over-running a bloody two-week showdown last month by US troops.

• Attack well organized:

“It’s quite clear those terrorists observed our procedures for some time,” Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said.

[…]

State will look at what happened, and how, to “assess what the vulnerabilities were,” Ereli said. He and other U.S. officials praised Saudi forces who killed or captured the attackers.

• Press denounces Jeddah attack

I liked Joe’s post today about Oil Infrastructure: The Next Terror Targets? Fine job. I’m also going to pile onto Armed Liberal’s earlier blog on today’s Saudi consulate attack and the danger of further attacks on oil infrastructure with some quick background analysis of my own.

I’ll start with some context about the game the Saudis are really playing and al-Qaeda in the Kingdom, then go on to discuss al-Qaeda’s recent successes and failures. Since Joe’s post ended by pointing to Chechnya, I’ll also follow-up on some of the questions that were raised in my recent analysis on Russia and Chechnya.

• Saudi Arabia: The Double Game Continues
• al-Qaeda’s Recent Victories & Setbacks
• From Russia With Love: More Chechnya Playas

Twelve people were killed and several others injured during a gunbattle at the U.S. consulate in Jiddah Monday after Islamic terrorists hurled explosives at the gate of the heavily guarded compound, then forced their way into the main building.

Five non-American U.S. employees, four security guards and three of the attackers, during the three-hour long crisis. Seven of the injured were in the hospital. Two other attackers were injured and arrested, according to the Saudi Interior Ministry).

Read more…

Update: The original Fox story said twelve were dead - they’ve updated their story and it now says nine.

Reuters clears up some confusing coverage of the situation:

“Members of [al Qaeda] this morning threw explosives at the gate of the U.S. consulate in Jeddah and then entered the compound,” said an Interior Ministry official on Monday, using the government’s language for loyalists of Saudi-born al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

“The security forces dealt with the situation and managed to control it. Three of the attackers were killed and two were arrested after they were wounded,” he said on state television.

Witnesses said the militants had hauled down the U.S. flag and burned it after bursting into the mission.

U.S. embassy spokeswoman Carol Kalin said two local staff were wounded. The State Department official denied early reports that gunmen had taken 18 local staffers hostage. “That idea may have arisen due to the use of the safe haven,” he said, referring to a fortified area to which the Americans had fled.

“No assailants remained on the loose. They have either been killed, captured or cornered,” the U.S. official added.

“The attack is over but the all-clear signal has not been given because I think they are still working to completely secure the area and make sure there is no danger.”

A Saudi security official said the militants entered the compound through a side door where mail is delivered, but the U.S. official said at least some had used the main entrance.

“They entered the main gate. It is not clear whether it was a bomb or they just sort of fired their way in,” he said.

More as it becomes available.

Saudi security forces have killed one of the gunmen who attacked the US consulate in the Saudi city of Jeddah and have arrested two others, security sources said.

They say that two more gunmen were being surrounded by the Saudi national guards inside the consulate compound.

[….]

“The incident is ongoing with Saudi security forces trying to secure the building.”

A senior US official says all Americans at the US consulate in Jeddah are safe and accounted for.

“There appear to be three armed attackers who are being pursued in the compound by the Saudi National Guard at this time,” the official said.

“The situation is in flux.”

This report says that there are four hostages being held in the Consulate (as reported here, previously uncofirmed)

This report froma an Arab news source claims 18 hostages are inside the building.

Update:

Reuters confirms the hostage situation:

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Attackers have stormed the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, killing four Saudi guards and taking 18 local staff hostage, security sources say.

There was no word on other casualties, but this reporter saw ambulances ferrying people from the complex

[To be updated]

There has been an attack on the US consulate in Jeddah. Israeli radio quotes Reuters as saying that 18 people were taken hostage, and 4 Saudi guards were killed - I could not find an online link on hostages.

UPDATE:

More from Fox:

Attackers struck the U.S. consulate in this port city, with witnesses saying a car exploded in front of the compound and smoke was rising from the scene. American officials said no U.S. casualties had been reported, but it was not immediately clear if others were hurt.

The witnesses said the car exploded in front of the consulate, and ambulances rushed to the scene. Al-Arabiya satellite television reported four attackers tried to storm the compound in a car, but that the car exploded in front instead.

“We can confirm there has been an attack on the consulate,” U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Carol Kalin said in the capital, Riyadh. “No reports of any American casualties. The incident is still in progress with Saudi emergency forces securing the compound.”

CNN:

He said that there were reports of shooting inside the compound and at least four non-American casualties, possibly to Saudi security forces. He said witnesses saw up to four gunmen involved in the initial attack..

Faraj said ambulances had been reported driving from the scene, suggesting there had been some casualties.

AP: Saudi Forces Arrest 5 Suspected Militants

Saudi police have arrested five suspected militants following a shootout that killed a policeman, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported Wednesday.

The agency, quoting an unidentified Interior Ministry official, said the clash took place Tuesday in al-Qassim, 220 miles northwest of Riyadh, the capital.

The official said two of those arrested were suspected terrorists, adding that one was severely wounded in the shootout that also killed one policeman and wounded eight others.

Police seized automatic rifles, pistols, pipe bombs and ammunition from the militants, plus computers, communication equipment and more than $10,000.

Saudi Forces Arrest 3 Suspected Militants

Saudi police arrested three suspected militants in possession of weapons and ammunition as part of the ongoing crackdown on Islamic extremists in the kingdom, an Interior Ministry statement said.

The three were captured Sunday in the capital, Riyadh, the ministry said in a statement carried on the official Saudi Press Agency.

In the home of one of the men, police found 20 detonators, 23 hand grenades, a Kalashnikov rifle, handgun with 300 bullets, 33 explosive devices and computers and cameras, it said.

At a second detainee’s home, police seized an automatic weapon with ammunition, communication equipment, documents and foreign currency. The third was also arrested at his home.

REUTERS: Saudi Diplomat Threatened by Grenades in Gift Box

A senior Saudi diplomat in Islamabad received a gift box last week that contained four hand grenades and a threatening note, the Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan said Monday.

Ambassador Ali Awab Asseri said his deputy, Abdullah al Omari, received the package containing the grenades after midnight Thursday along with a note saying he should leave Pakistan within a month.

“A very nice, well-packed parcel in the form of a gift was delivered to the house of Mr. Abdullah by a man on a motorcycle,” Asseri told Reuters.

Asseri said Abdullah would not leave Pakistan in the wake of the threat.

When Reuters Oddly Enough meets CP-GWOT, everybody ducks…

REUTERS: Saudi Arabia Bans Tinted Car Windows

Saudi Arabia banned tinted car windows Sunday in a move aimed at preventing militants escaping detection on the kingdom’s roads.

An Interior Ministry statement published by the official Saudi Press Agency said drivers will have a maximum of a year to clear their windows — except for one behind the driver’s seat.

Many cars in the deeply conservative Muslim Gulf state have darkened windows to protect the privacy of passengers, particularly women. But officials say militants may have used tinted windows to avoid being spotted by security forces.

Sunday’s decree specified that even remaining shaded passenger window must be 70 percent transparent.

Will someone please explain the underlined statement in the comments for me:

De facto ruler Crown Prince Abdullah, who said in August the kingdom had defeated the militants, described them Sunday as “chickens with iron beaks.”

AP: Saudi Forces Arrest 4 Suspected Militants

Security forces have captured four suspected militants, an Interior Ministry spokesman said Sunday, the latest detentions in a Saudi crackdown on Islamic extremists in the kingdom.

Brig. Gen. Mansour al-Turki said all four men were arrested before dawn Saturday. Two of them were detained in Temair, a village about 85 miles northwest of Riyadh, he said.

“The men did not resist arrest,” al-Turki said of those two, adding they were arrested at different locations in the village.

Al-Turki refused to identify the men. However, local newspapers gave their names as Mohammed al-Abdullah and Rayess al-Rayess.

Okaz daily newspaper, which is close to the Interior Ministry, said al-Abdullah works as a teacher and was arrested in a mountainous area. The paper said al-Rayess was fleeing in a red car when he was caught.

Al-Turki said the two other men were arrested in the Khaleej neighborhood of Riyadh.

AP: Saudi Prince Suggests Causes for Terrorism

Poverty and unemployment among Arabs are fundamental reasons for the spread of terrorism, a Saudi prince said Sunday at the opening of a conference on small loans for the poor.

The comments by Prince Talal bin Abdul-Aziz, brother of Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd, come as Arab leaders try to curb the spread of Islamic extremism throughout a region consumed by the American-led war in Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“Unemployment creates one of the cornerstones of terrorism, and the poor who cannot get food on his table resorts to other means, which are involuntary human reactions,” the prince said while opening the four-day Middle East-Africa Microcredit Summit in Amman, Jordan’s capital.

So if suicide bombers’ families were paid by Saudi princes before they exploded, they wouldn’t explode in the first place?

AP: Saudi Charity Closed on Terror Suspicions

The Saudi government has ordered the closure of a large charity that Washington accuses of helping finance terrorist activities, a Saudi official said Tuesday.

The Riyadh-based Al-Haramain foundation has until Oct. 15 to dissolve all its operations, the official said on condition of anonymity.

Officials from the Ministry of Religious Affairs and from Al-Haramain could not be reached.

Adel al-Jubeir, foreign policy adviser to Crown Prince Abdullah, announced in Washington in June that in an effort to prevent charitable donations from bankrolling terrorism, the Saudi government was creating a commission to filter contributions raised inside the kingdom to support causes abroad.

The plan included dissolving Al-Haramain and other Saudi charities and folding their financial assets into the new national commission.

ARAB TIMES: Saudi Arabia intends to host anti-terror meeting

Saudi Arabia told the U.N. General Assembly on Monday it would host an international conference on terrorism in its capital Riyadh Feb. 5-8, the first by the oil-rich nation.

“The purpose is to exchange information and experience in the field of combating terrorism and to see how we can cooperate with other countries in the fight toward this universal threat,” said Nizar Obaid Madani, the Saudi foreign ministry undersecretary.

He said such a conference, which would include international organizations, could also review techniques for money laundering, drug smuggling and gun-running. But he gave no details on who was invited or who would attend.

But…

But Madani made clear Israel would not be asked, accusing the Jewish state of drawing its own boundaries, conducting aerial bombardments and assassinations of Palestinians.

“The setback in the peace process and the mounting wave of violence and extremism in the region are largely attributable to the pursuit by the Israeli government of policies that are totally incompatible with the fundamental principles of the peace process,” he said.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Two of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers had a support network in the United States that included agents of the Saudi government, and the Bush administration and FBI blocked a congressional investigation into that relationship, Sen. Bob Graham (D., Fla.) wrote in a book to be released tomorrow.

The discovery of the financial backing of the two hijackers “would draw a direct line between the terrorists and the government of Saudi Arabia, and trigger an attempted coverup by the Bush administration,” Graham wrote.

And in Graham’s book, Intelligence Matters, he makes clear that some details of that financial support from Saudi Arabia were in the 27 pages of the congressional inquiry’s final report that were blocked from release by the administration, despite the pleas of leaders of both parties on the House and Senate intelligence committees.

Graham also reveals that Gen. Tommy Franks told him on Feb. 19, 2002, just four months after the invasion of Afghanistan, that many important resources - including the Predator drone aircraft crucial to the search for Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda leaders - were being shifted to prepare for a war against Iraq.

ARAB NEWS: Abdullah Vows to Crush Militants

Crown Prince Abdullah stated yesterday that the Kingdom would crush militants linked to Al-Qaeda terror network as well as their financiers. “God willing, this deviant group, their supporters and guides as well as those who give them money to bring in weapons and explosives will be defeated,” he said.

Addressing a group of citizens, including a delegation of Saudi engineers, Prince Abdullah said the terrorist group had tarnished the image of Islam.

“Unfortunately, they are the tails of Satan… and Satan misleads people,” he said, adding that the fate of the remaining 11 of the 26 most-wanted terrorists would be worse than those who were either killed or arrested in the past.

JERUSALEM POST: Saudi crown prince: Terrorists will be curbed soon

Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah said Saturday that terrorists who did not turn themselves in to authorities during a past amnesty period “will face death soon.”

Abdullah made the comments, carried by the official Saudi Press Agency, during a meeting with tribal delegations at his palace in the Red Sea resort of Jiddah.

“We are after this astray bunch, of whom we have all the detestation and shame,” Abdullah said. “… We have given them amnesty for a certain period and some of them turned themselves in, but those who didn’t will face death soon.”

A four-week amnesty was offered in June by Saudi King Fahd, who urged wanted militants to surrender and be spared the death penalty.

The amnesty failed to attract hardcore militants.
Six wanted men surrendered, including Khaled al-Harb, a confidant of al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden, and 27 others were repatriated from a number of countries.

“Whoever intends to harm this religion (Islam) or this country, a rock will hit his head,” Abdullah said. “Trust your government; it is walking in the path of the truth and just whatever happens.”

(Is that a mistranslation?)

ARAB NEWS: Wanted Terrorist Taken Without a Fight in Abha

Saudi security forces yesterday arrested Faris Ahmed Jamaan Al-Zahrani, the No. 11 on a list of most wanted 26 terrorists published by the Interior Ministry last December. According to Al-Arabiya satellite television, Zahrani, 27, surrendered to police “without putting up any resistance” in a park in the southern resort city of Abha following a chase of several hours.

Only 11 terrorists — nine Saudis and two Moroccans — on the list now remain at large as others have either been killed in clashes with security forces or surrendered to authorities during the past months.

A security source told Arab News that Zahrani, at the time of his arrest, was carrying a hand grenade but did not use it. Zahrani was with another person, not listed as a terrorist, when he was picked up by the security forces.

Reuters:

An Irishman has been killed in his office in the Saudi capital Riyadh, diplomatic and police sources say.

“We can confirm independently that there has been a shooting,” a Western diplomat said on Tuesday, adding the man was Irish and was shot in his office in eastern Riyadh.

“We lack information on motive or circumstances,” the diplomat said.

A security source said police found the man dead in his company’s office.

The Irish foreign ministry had no official comment and Saudi officials were not available to comment.

The British Foreign Office said it had no information that a British passport holder was involved.

2:38 UPDATE: Associated Press reports contain more details:

An Irish citizen was shot and killed Tuesday when armed men stormed his office and opened fire with machine guns, a Saudi official and a Western diplomat said.
The Saudi official said at least two armed men stormed the office of the Saudi-owned company Rocky for Trade and Construction at 6:30 p.m. and began shooting. The dead man’s name was not given.

Cross-posted at Backcountry Conservative.

ARAB NEWS: Extremists Who Failed to Surrender Will Be Wiped Out: Abdullah

Crown Prince Abdullah yesterday warned that suspected extremists who had failed to surrender under a royal amnesty would be “annihilated.”

“We had given the deviant group a month in the name of the king and the people,” the crown prince told local dignitaries who came to visit him at his palace in Jeddah, according to Saudi Press Agency.

“Unfortunately, (just a few) turned themselves in, while others remained (at large) and, God willing, will be annihilated,” he said.

The crown prince’s warning came as security forces arrested a foreign resident in possession of weapons and explosives, including rocket-propelled grenades, in a Riyadh district.

“Security forces, in searching for members of the deviant group, succeeded in arresting a (foreign) resident in a Riyadh district,” an Interior Ministry official was quoted by the Saudi Press Agency as saying yesterday.

He did not give the man’s name or nationality.

“He was found in possession of weapons and explosives, including two rocket-propelled grenades, nine highly explosive blocks, four hand grenades, and an AK-47 machine-gun with over 1,000 bullets, in addition to forged documents and electronic devices,” the official said.

AP: Surrender of al-Qaeda chief negotiated

Negotiations for the surrender of the man believed to be al-Qaeda’s chief in the Arabian Peninsula have begun, a Saudi cleric said Friday.

Sheik Safar al-Hawaly, speaking to The Associated Press from the southern Saudi province al-Baha, said an intermediary was sent to Saleh Mohammed al-Aoofi on Thursday night. He would not say where al-Aoofi was.

Al-Hawaly said he had previously mediated with extremists on behalf of the Saudi government.

Saudi officials were not immediately available to comment Friday, the Muslim Sabbath.

ARAB NEWS: Sultan Asks Militants to Surrender

Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, yesterday called on militants still at large to take advantage of a royal amnesty before it expires on Friday.

Speaking from his palace in Jeddah where he met senior government officials and military commanders, Prince Sultan said: “Islam is a religion of compassion, mercy and peace. Terrorists still in hiding should make use of the amnesty and surrender before it is too late.”

“We hope that those remaining will be reasonable enough to use the period left to turn themselves in. Amnesty usually comes from men of magnanimity and generosity and it always comes with victory. The amnesty declared by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd was a noble act and we hope those who have not given themselves up would benefit from this pardon,” Prince Sultan was quoted by the Saudi Press Agency as saying.

JERUSALEM POST: Report: Saudi Arabia to establish terror council

Saudi Arabia is establishing a council on terrorism, to be led by Interior Minister Prince Nayef, that will identify terror financiers and help implement policies to end such violence in the kingdom, a newspaper reported Thursday.

The Shura Council - an advisory body that acts somewhat like a parliament - approved formation of the council on Wednesday, Okaz daily newspaper reported, quoting an unidentified official. Prince Nayef will lead the council, it said.

The council will come up with a plan to implement Shura Council recommendations on handling terrorism in the kingdom, according to Okaz, which is close to Saudi Interior Ministry officials. It also will attempt to identify entities behind terror attacks and track sources of terror money internally and overseas, the newspaper said.

No further details were given.

MAARIV: Saudi royal house again appeasing terrorists

Two weeks into a month long semi amnesty for al Qaeda operatives who surrender to Saudi security forces, announced dramatically by Crown Prince Abdullah, only four terrorists have done so.

According to the terms of the amnesty, announced by Abdullah two weeks ago on Saudi TV, al Qaeda operatives surrendering to Saudi security forces will not be indicted for offenses carrying a possible death penalty. The amnesty is due to expire on the 23rd of July.

The so far desultory results tends to confirm western intelligence reports that the some of the Sudairi princes have knifed their half brother Abdullah in the back by resuming back-channel contacts with al Qaeda. The reports specifically mention Prince Nayef Prince Salman and King Fahd’s youngest son Abdulaziz.

According to several western intelligence agencies, the Sudairis (named after the clan of Ibn Saud’s favorite wife which has dominated the extended royal family for over two generations) have decided to sabotage Abdullah’s bid to confront the jihadists, preferring to appease them.

The reason for this is the assessment of Saudi intelligence that the US would ultimately fail in Iraq. Saudi intelligence believes that within a year interim president Ghazi al Yawar will be at best president of greater Baghdad. The Sunni triangle will be under the control of an al-Qaeda led Baathist-Jihadist coalition, the Shiite south will be dominated by pro-Iranian Hezbollah, and the Kurdish north will be de facto independent of Iraq, although may not have formally declared independence in order to avoid a show down with Turkey, which opposes an independent Kurdish state.

AL-JAZEERA: Saudi cleric urges al-Qaida surrender

A top Saudi cleric has urged al-Qaida members to surrender under a limited amnesty that supporters of Usama bin Ladin group have so far rejected.

Shaikh Saud bin Ibrahim al-Shraim, preacher at the Grand Mosque in Makka, told worshippers attending his Friday sermon that Saudi authorities were sincere in forgiving armed dissidents who voluntarily surrender.

“Hurry, you who have committed mistakes and are now in hiding, to make this initiative a new beginning in correcting (your behaviour) and return to the true path,” Shraim said in a speech that praised repentance as an Islamic ideal.

“Hurry to catch up with those who have been promised forgiveness in life and death, for God Almighty has said to those who have repented … that He is forgiving and merciful.”

The one-month amnesty offer was announced on 23 June.

Saudi Arabia is now backing off a claim that a militant cleric and wanted terrorist, Abdullah Mohammed Rashid al-Roshoud, had been killed.

A senior Saudi official denied Thursday that a militant killed in a shootout with police was a cleric believed to be the chief ideologist for al-Qaida in the region.

A security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, on Wednesday told The Associated Press that the man slain during a car chase and shootout with police was Abdullah Mohammed Rashid al-Roshoud, one of Saudi’s most wanted terror suspects. Saudi and other Arab TV stations and newspapers also widely reported that al-Roshoud had been killed.

But Prince Sattam bin Abdel-Aziz, the deputy governor of Riyadh, said al-Roshoud had not been killed in Wednesday’s clash.

The Prince went on to say that a militant was killed, who was just as dangerous.

Abdel-Aziz, speaking after burial prayers for a policeman killed in the fighting, refused to reveal the name of the militant killed Wednesday or say if he was on a list of 26 most wanted militants in Saudi.

He added that a statement would be issued later.

A couple weeks ago, news broke that Hezbollah had approached distributors of Fahrenheit 9/11, asking how they could help support the movie:

In terms of marketing the film, Front Row is getting a boost from organisations related to Hezbollah which have rung up from Lebanon to ask if there is anything they can do to support the film. And although Chacra says he and his company feel strongly that Fahrenheit is not anti-American, but anti-Bush, “we can’t go against these organisations as they could strongly boycott the film in Lebanon and Syria.” [Originally published in ScreenDaily, 6/9/2004]

News of this connection has been decried by many as right-wing conspiracy-fostering, but those complaints miss the point. The fact that terrorist groups would approach the distributor is not scary; those groups are rational, and they see that this film is the better propaganda than they could ever make (after all, it’s not like American movie theatres would ever show al Qaeda training tapes).

What is scary is that the distributor is so nonchalant about accepting help from these terrorists:

Gianluca Chacra, the managing director of Front Row Entertainment, the movie’s distributor in the United Arab Emirates, confirms that Lebanese student members of Hezbollah “have asked us if there’s any way they could support the film.” While Hezbollah is considered a legitimate political party in many parts of the world, the U.S. State Department classifies the group as a terrorist organization. Chacra was unfazed, even excited, about their offer. “Having the support of such an entity in Lebanon is quite significant for that market and not at all controversial. I think it’s quite natural.”

The right can’t make up stuff as absurd as this. (Hat Tip: Blogs for Bush)

AP: Saudi Clash Kills 2 Militants, Policeman

A shootout in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Wednesday killed two militants and one policemen, a security official said, adding that at least one militant fled the scene.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the shootout and a subsequent police chase occurred in the al-Quds neighborhood in eastern Riyadh.

It was not immediately clear if the militants were on a list of 26 most wanted terrorists sought in relation to previous attacks in the Gulf kingdom.

(Militants on terrorist lists?)

CNN: Saudis: Al Qaeda member surrenders

One of Saudi Arabia’s most wanted militants has turned himself into the authorities, the first senior suspect to surrender under a one-month government amnesty announced last week.

Othman Al-Omari, number 21 on Saudi Arabia’s most wanted list of 26, accepted King Fahd’s offer of amnesty, which was made last week, according to Saudi sources Monday.

Al-Omari, who turned himself in on Sunday night, was a business partner of Shaban Al Shihri — the first al Qaeda member to accept the offer when he turned himself in Friday.

Al-Omari and Al Shihri shared a vegetable stall in a market in Medina. Al Shihri, according to sources, was in part responsible for persuading Al Omari to turn himself in.

ARAB NEWS: ‘Families Can Punish Terrorists’

Families of victims killed by terrorists who surrender to the authorities could decide if they will be executed, Saudi Ambassador to UK Turki Al-Faisal said in an interview to be aired today.

“The state will drop its claim on these individuals if they give themselves up, but the private claims of the families of those who were killed or who were assaulted or who were wounded will remain for them to decide and not for the state,” Al-Faisal said.

Asked by interviewer Jonathan Dimbleby on Britain’s ITV television if the families of Westerners killed could demand terrorists faced the death penalty, Al-Faisal said: “It is up to them. They will decide.”

Expats will be allowed to carry guns to stop militants.

Western expatriates working in Saudi Arabia will be allowed to carry weapons to defend themselves against attacks by Islamic militants.

Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz, the interior minister, made the radical concession because foreigners working in the private sector feel poorly protected by Saudi security forces.

However, those working on government contracts will not be eligible and will be protected by the Saudi authorities.

“In principle, a Saudi has the right to carry a weapon if he has a permit. Likewise, a foreign resident, if he felt in danger, could get a permit to carry a weapon,” the prince said in remarks reported by the official Saudi Press Agency.

His comments came as some expatriates - who do not have the right to carry arms - have started buying them on the black market for about £230.

Saudi Arabia has offered one month of amnesty to all terrorists in the kingdom.

AP: Saudis Offer Militants One-Month Amnesty

Saudi Arabia announced an amnesty for Muslim militants who turn themselves in in the next month, saying they will not face the death penalty and will only be prosecuted if they committed acts that hurt others.

(more information and refinement of the actual statement as it comes available)

AP: Home Surrounded in Saudi Militant Search

Saudi security forces surrounded a house in central Riyadh where suspected militants were believed to have fled after trading fire with security forces Sunday, security officials said.

Police cars and armored vehicles filled the area, and blockades were set up at all the entrances to the al-Malaz district — a neighborhood that has been a focus in a widescale security sweep against militants following the slaying of American hostage Paul M. Johnson Jr.

Witnesses told The Associated Press that they saw shooting between suspects and police before some men fled on foot, seeking refuge in a house.

CNN: Saudi al Qaeda cell names new leader

Al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia announced Sunday that Saleh al-Oufi will replace slain leader Abdel Aziz al-Muqrin, according to the Islamist Web site where the group posts its messages.

Al-Oufi, a former prison guard, holds the number five spot on Saudi Arabia’s list of 26 most wanted terrorists, although Saudi security sources told CNN that he lacks some of the operational experience of al-Muqrin, who was killed in a shoot-out with Saudi security after the murder of American hostage Paul Johnson.

SEATTLE POST-INT: Al-Qaida: Sympathizers aided abduction

The al-Qaida cell that kidnapped and killed American Paul M. Johnson Jr. said in an online periodical Sunday that sympathizers in the kingdom’s security forces supplied it with police uniforms and vehicles and set up fake checkpoints to facilitate last week’s abduction.

The details of the kidnapping appeared in Sawt al-Jihad, or Voice of Holy War, a semimonthly online periodical published by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. A separate article, the final one written by cell leader Abdulaziz al-Moqrin, killed in a shootout Friday night, justified Johnson’s slaying.

The first article said militants wearing police uniforms and using police cars set up a fake checkpoint on al-Khadma Road, leading the airport, near Imam Mohammed bin Saud University.

When Johnson’s car approached the checkpoint June 12, the militants in police uniforms stopped his car - a Camry - detained him, anesthetized him and carried him to another car, the article said.

It said they then blew up Johnson’s car.

REUTERS: Saudi Arabia Tells Militants to Repent or Die

Saudi Arabia warned Muslim militants they would share the fate of their slain leader unless they repented, as al Qaeda vowed renewed “holy war” in the kingdom.

Al Qaeda’s leader in Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz al-Muqrin, was shot dead by Saudi forces on Friday along with three other prominent militants hours after they beheaded American hostage Paul Johnson, whose body has still not been found.

Saudi analysts who have contacts with militants said on Sunday they expected al Qaeda to name Saleh al-Awfi, a former Interior Ministry employee, as Muqrin’s successor.

“We tell this deviant group and others that if they do not return to the right path, they will meet the same fate or worse,” Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Abdullah said late on Saturday.

“Security forces will deal with them, God willing, and with every aggressor inside or abroad,” he added.

Via AP, Al-Arabiya is reporting that three terrorists have been killed in the vicinity of the kidnapping/murder scene.

More as it comes available…

REUTERS: Saudi Forces Kill 3 Militants in Riyadh - Arabiya TV

Saudi security forces killed three suspected militants in the Saudi capital Riyadh Friday, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television said.

It said the three were killed in the al-Malazz district but gave no further details. The Riyadh suburb has been the scene of a massive security search after al Qaeda militants shot dead a U.S. contractor there last week.

The television did not say whether the militants were killed during a search for the body of U.S. hostage Paul Johnson, who al Qaeda said it beheaded earlier Friday.

UPDATE:
According to CNN and AP banners, “Leading Al-Qaida figure in Saudi Arabia Abdulaziz Issa Abdul-Mohsin al-Moqrin has been killed”

From Reuters, Al-Arabiya is reporting that Paul Johnson, the American hostage in Saudi Arabia, has been beheaded.

(More to follow)

Terrorists beware! Crown Prince Abdullah’s patience is wearing out!

ARAB NEWS: Our Patience Is Running Out, Says Crown Prince

Crown Prince Abdullah yesterday warned that the Kingdom’s patience with terrorists was running out and insisted aut