Saudi Arabia, battling a wave of militant violence, said on Sunday foreign countries had handed over 27 wanted Saudis to its security forces. A statement carried on the official Saudi Press Agency said authorities had "received 27 Saudi nationals wanted on security grounds from brotherly countries" -- an expression which usually refers to other Arab or Muslim states. It did not say when they were handed over and said because of investigations under way it could give no immediate details. Security sources said they believed most of the suspects had come from Yemen and Syria in recent days.
One security source said most of the suspects delivered to Saudi authorities had come from neighboring Yemen and from Syria, adding there had been a "dramatic improvement" in security cooperation between Riyadh and Damascus. He said some may also have come from Iraq, but he did not say how many surrendered voluntarily or were handed over against their will. Another Saudi security source said many relatives of suspects had been in touch with authorities in recent days. "There is likely to be a lot of action in the last days of the amnesty," he said. "Most of these guys involved had been in Afghanistan, they were not guys who were inside (Saudi Arabia)," he added. |