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Top al-Qaida Official Reportedly Killed
Fills out yesterday's article...
Saudi security forces killed two militants, including one considered al-Qaida's chief of operations on the Arabian Peninsula, in a shootout in the capital of Riyadh on Monday, U.S. and Saudi officials said.
| Not a car accident in the middle of the desert? That twitched the digital surprise meter. |
A Saudi Interior Ministry statement said the two were killed in the al-Nasseem neighborhood, in eastern Riyadh, in an exchange of fire with security forces on Monday afternoon. Abu Hazim al-Shair, a Yemeni believed to be about 30, was the senior al-Qaida figure in the region. The official said his death represented a "major, very significant blow" to al-Qaida. "This guy was involved in ongoing terrorist planning and plotting," the official added. The Saudi Interior Ministry identified the dead as Khaled Ali Haj, a Yemeni, and Ibrahim bin Abdul-Aziz bin Mohammed al-Mezeini, a Saudi. Haj is one of many another name used by Abu Hazim, according to the U.S. counterterrosim official, who ranked third on the government's list of 26 most wanted militants. The other dead militant's name was not on the list.
The suspects were riding in a vehicle and refused to stop for a spot identification check by members of the security forces. The suspects began shooting at the security forces, who returned fire, killing the two, the statement said.
| Guess they were out of Pakistani passports. |
The Saudi statement said six hand grenades, two AK-47 assault rifles, three 9mm pistols and originally $500,000 $137,000 in cash were found in the vehicle. The security forces took no casualties, according to the statement. Abu Hazim is believed to have trained in al-Qaida's Afghan camps in 1999 and later to have served as bin Laden's bodyguard. Before Sept. 11, he traveled frequently to the Arabian peninsula, to southeast Asia and to Afghanistan. U.S. officials have also tied him to the May 12 bombings of residential complexes in Riyadh and possibly to some Saudi-based planning of operations targeting the United States.
| Can we see the severed head? You know, just to be sure? |
Posted by: Steve White 2004-03-16 |
