Al-Qaida's alleged leader in Saudi Arabia said in an Internet statement that the militant network was helping insurgents who are battling occupation forces in Iraq. In the statement that surfaced Friday on an al-Qaida-linked online periodical, Abdulaziz Issa Abdul-Mohsin al-Moqrin said al-Qaida is in close contact with fighters in Iraq. ''By our jihad in the Arab peninsula, we are serving Iraq's cause and helping the mujahedeen (fighters) there, whom we are in close contact with,'' he said. ''There is mutual support between the two of us and we are working on confusing the American enemy. Muslims should realize that jihad in this country to apply sharia (Islamic law) and expel occupying Crusaders is a duty for all able ones.'' He said al-Qaida relies on independent cells who function without ''organizational cohesion'' to carry out its goals, following the group's example and books and periodicals on how to carry out militant operations.
| I think we have that down by now... |
As an example, he praised one cell for a May 1 attack in the western Saudi city of Yanbu that killed five Westerners and a Saudi. ''The Yanbu Cell that implemented the heroic successful operation this month is one of the best examples of what is required,'' the statement said. |