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Alqaeda suspects blow selves up in mecca { November 6 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,102355,00.htmlhttp://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,102355,00.html
Al Qaeda Suspects Blow Selves Up in Mecca
Thursday, November 06, 2003
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Two suspected militants blew themselves up Thursday in the holy city of Mecca when security forces attempted to arrest them, a security official said.
The official said the two likely belonged to a terror cell that had clashed with Saudi police in Mecca on Monday. That cell has been linked to Al Qaeda, the terrorist network blamed for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and for a string of suicide bombings in the Saudi capital in May.
Earlier Thursday, Saudi police engaged in a firefight with suspected terrorists in the capital, Riyadh, leaving one suspect dead and eight policemen wounded, an Interior Ministry official said.
Several militants were captured after the Riyadh shootout, a police officer on the scene told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Several more militants escaped in cars, a neighbor said.
The latest clashes come during one of the most sacred periods for Muslims, the month of Ramadan (search). Muslims believe their holy book, the Quran, was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad during a Ramadan 1,400 years ago.
Mecca, birthplace of Muhammad, also has great significance for Muslims. During the last 10 days of Ramadan, some 2 million Muslims are expected to perform the "omra," or minor pilgrimage, to Mecca.
The legitimacy of Saudi rulers rests partly on their custodianship of Mecca, which is off-limits to non-Muslims. A strike on Mecca could be seen as a strike on the regime.
About 600 suspects have been arrested and more than a dozen killed in a crackdown since the May 12 suicide bombings of Western residential compounds in Riyadh (search) in which 25 people and the nine assailants died.
Saudi authorities have said some of those detained are linked to Al Qaeda. Fifteen of the 19 Sept. 11 suicide hijackers were Saudi and Al Qaeda is led by Saudi-born dissident Usama bin Laden.
In late October, the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh warned of the possibility of attacks, saying: "It is the Embassy's assessment that terrorist groups may place special operational significance on the upcoming month of Ramadan." Britain's Foreign Office said at the time it believed that "terrorists may be in the final phases of planning attacks" in Saudi Arabia.
Some experts on Islamic militancy believe extremists are more likely to attack during periods of religious importance. Others, though, say militants strike when they can and when they judge the attacks will make the most impact, not according to any religious calendar.
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