Bond
06-18-2004, 06:09 PM
CAIRO, Egypt - The purported leader of al-Qaida in Saudi Arabia was killed in a raid in the capital Friday, Saudi security officials said. Abdulaziz al-Moqrin, 31, was killed by security forces who had surrounded militants in a downtown neighborhood shortly after the discovery of the body of an American killed earlier in the evening, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Al-Arabiya satellite station said two other militants, on Saudi Arabia's list of most wanted men, were also killed in the raid, and another was injured and arrested.
One Saudi security official who took part in the raid said that three or four bodies were taken to the Interior Security Hospital, and al-Moqrin is believed to be one of them. Two suspects escaped, he said.
The official said the bodies would undergo forensic tests.
Al-Moqrin, who trained with Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) in Afghanistan (news - web sites), is at the top of the list of suspects in Saudi Arabia and is believed to be the leader of the group calling itself al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, which claimed responsibility for Friday's beheading of American hostage Paul M. Johnson Jr.
Al-Moqrin's group has claimed responsibility for most attacks against Westerners in Saudi Arabia in the past two months.
Source (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&e=2&u=/ap/20040618/ap_on_re_mi_ea/saudi_al_qaida)
Now the Saudis need to find the two who escaped and kill and/or capture them also.
Al-Arabiya satellite station said two other militants, on Saudi Arabia's list of most wanted men, were also killed in the raid, and another was injured and arrested.
One Saudi security official who took part in the raid said that three or four bodies were taken to the Interior Security Hospital, and al-Moqrin is believed to be one of them. Two suspects escaped, he said.
The official said the bodies would undergo forensic tests.
Al-Moqrin, who trained with Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) in Afghanistan (news - web sites), is at the top of the list of suspects in Saudi Arabia and is believed to be the leader of the group calling itself al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, which claimed responsibility for Friday's beheading of American hostage Paul M. Johnson Jr.
Al-Moqrin's group has claimed responsibility for most attacks against Westerners in Saudi Arabia in the past two months.
Source (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&e=2&u=/ap/20040618/ap_on_re_mi_ea/saudi_al_qaida)
Now the Saudis need to find the two who escaped and kill and/or capture them also.