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STRATFOR.com
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THE INTERNET SOURCE FOR GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE
If it’s in the news, it’s too late...
Al Qaeda Gearing Up for Offensive in Saudi Arabia?
October 15, 2002
Summary
Two separate incidents connected to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and possibly involving radicals may suggest that militants in the kingdom are gearing up for an offensive aimed at the Saudi government as well as Americans and other Westerners. Expatriates living in the kingdom should take all security precautions prescribed by the U.S. State Department.
Image Credit: l'Agence France-Presse.
Analysis
Saudi Arabian Airlines said in a statement Oct. 15 that a hijack attempt aboard a flight from Sudan on its way to Jeddah was foiled after special forces disarmed and arrested a Saudi man carrying a gun. A few hours earlier, an allegedly drunk Saudi citizen rammed his car into the gates of the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah, Agence France-Presse reported.
Taken together -- and following a string of terrorism-related incidents in Indonesia, Kuwait, the Philippines and Yemen -- the hijacking and the "accident" in Jeddah may indicate that militants associated with the al Qaeda network have been given the green light to conduct attacks in the kingdom and elsewhere.
Until the U.S. war in Afghanistan, local militants may have held back due to Riyadh's recognition of the Taliban government. Now however, al Qaeda second-in-command Ayman Zawahiri is warning of more attacks. If his claims are true, an outbreak of al Qaeda strikes in the kingdom against Westerners and the government could destabilize the government in Riyadh and irreparably damage U.S.-Saudi ties.
(The Rest of the Story)
(c) 2001 Stratfor, Inc.
Dan
Al Qaeda Gearing Up for Offensive in Saudi Arabia . . . ?