 One of two terrorists killed in clashes with Saudi police last week was a national karate champion who trained al-Qaida members. A security source quoted Monday in the Saudi daily newspaper al-Watan said Mohammed Abdullah Awida, who was killed in Medina in western Saudi Arabia along with Saleh al-Oufi, al-Qaida's main operative in the kingdom, had turned his apartment into a training center for al-Qaida affiliates. Abu Baker Jabrati, a former karate colleague of Awida's, said the latter was kind and sweet when he met him at the time they were both training for the Saudi national championship back in 1992. But Awida changed personality and mentality later on and became a Muslim extremist in 1999, using his art in support of extremism, Jabrati said. |