|
Riyadh frees 160 returnees from Afghanistan
Authorities have freed around 160 Saudis detained upon returning from Afghanistan over the past few months, Arabic daily Al-Hayat reported yesterday. The men were released after interrogation established that they were not affiliated to the Al-Qaeda network and had not participated in Al-Qaeda operations âthat threatened the security of the Kingdom or other countries,â the newspaper said."Welcome home, Mahmud." "Thank you. Happy to be here." "You a terrorist? It sez here I gotta ask." "Nope, not me." "What do you use that machinegun for?" "Elk. I like to shoot elk." The freed Saudis had gone to Afghanistan to fight alongside the former ruling Taleban militia âout of religious fervor,â a Saudi security source told AFP yesterday. Saudi authorities âdistinguish between those who were driven to Afghanistan by religious zeal and those who are members of Al-Qaeda and threaten the Kingdomâs and other countriesâ security,â the source said. "The 'religious fervor' bunch wore white turbans and beat other men's wives. The real al-Qaeda bunch wore, uh, black turbans and beat other men's wives. Or was it the other way around? No matter. There's a difference." The Saudis released by the authorities had returned to the Kingdom during the past few months via Iran and other neighboring countries. Some of them had gone to Afghanistan before the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the United States. And others after, hoping to get a whack at a few infidels. We know. Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2002-06-19 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=5204 |