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Saudis find deep network of terror cells { August 14 2003 }

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http://www.dailystar.com/star/today/30814ISaudi-FindingExtremi.html

Thursday, 14 August 2003
Saudis find wide, deep network of terror cells
By Faiza Saleh Ambah
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi authorities have uncovered a network of Islamic extremists, arms and sophisticated equipment operating in sleeper cells all over the kingdom.

Saudi officials say they became aware of the terrorist cells during a crackdown with more than 15 raids following the May 12 suicide bombings in the Saudi capital.

In the latest gunbattle with extremists, security forces checking an illegally parked truck were fired on Tuesday in Riyadh, the second time police were attacked by militants in as many days.

A day earlier, Saudi police arrested 10 militants who allegedly belonged to a terrorist cell planning to attack a British target.

British Airways suspended flights to the kingdom Wednesday after Britain's Department for Transport said it received "credible intelligence of a serious threat" to British aviation interests.

Adel al-Jubeir, a Saudi foreign policy adviser, said he was confident the terrorists would not have been successful because of increased security at airports throughout the kingdom.

"Our airports in Saudi Arabia are very secure, and we are determined to keep them that way," al-Jubeir said Wednesday in a CNN interview.

Nonetheless, the State Department on Wednesday updated its travel alert on Saudi Arabia, citing the potential for further terrorist attacks on civilians there and urging Americans to exercise extra caution in the Persian Gulf region.

Arsenals uncovered

Last month, police found underground arsenals at farms in central and eastern Saudi Arabia, and cars and trucks ready for use as bombs. They also have discovered dozens of fake passports, surveillance equipment and donation boxes.

"The extremists had infiltrated and developed sleeper cells in Saudi Arabia to an extent that neither society nor the authorities were aware of. I believe they were still in the process of getting organized . . . when they were first raided by police" in May, said Mishari al-Thaidi, expert on militants and a journalist with the pan-Arab Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.

The raids have foiled many plots, some on an even larger scale than the Riyadh bombings, which killed 35 people including nine attackers, according to Interior Minister Prince Nayef. The May 12 bombings targeted Riyadh housing compounds where foreigners as well as Saudis live; among the Saudi dead was Mohammed al-Balheed, son of the deputy governor of Riyadh.

Since the Riyadh bombings, Saudi authorities have arrested more than 200 suspects. More than a dozen militants and at least 10 security men have also died in gunbattles with extremists.

The sophistication of the arsenal that has been uncovered and the presence of militant networks in Saudi Arabia's major cities indicate how powerful and far-reaching they are, al-Thaidi said.

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