REPORTS: Saudis Nab Alleged Bomb Planner

Wednesday, May 28, 2003
(2:54)
By Donna Abu-Nasr
Associated Press Writer

Al-Ghamdi, the militant reportedly captured in the latest arrests, was among 19 men wanted in connection with a weapons cache found May 6 near the site of the Riyadh bombings. The 19 were believed to be receiving orders directly from al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden and may have been planning to attack Saudi royal family members and U.S. and British interests.

Unidentified Saudi students look from behind glass at a handwritten Qur'an (old script) at the National Museum in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, May 28, 2003. Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef announced the arrests of a number of militants believed to have had a role in the Riyadh bombings, the oficial Saudi Press Agency reported Wednesday.
Image Credit: Ali Fraidoon -- AP

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- AP
Saudi officials arrested an al-Qaida figure suspected of masterminding the Riyadh bombings, a newspaper reported Wednesday, and the U.S. ambassador warned that militant cells are likely still plotting attacks in the kingdom.

Interior Minister Prince Nayef announced new arrests, saying the hunt had intensified for those involved in the May 12 suicide bombings in the Saudi capital, which killed 34 people, including eight Americans.

Saudi newspapers said that among those arrested were five people in the eastern city of Medina - including Ali Abd al-Rahman al-Faqasi al-Ghamdi, who U.S. officials say is one of al-Qaida's top figures in Saudi Arabia.

Al-Ghamdi, captured along with two others at an Internet cafe, is suspected of plotting the Riyadh blasts, the daily Al-Watan reported. Al-Watan, like most Saudi papers, is privately owned but government guided.

Nayef declined to give details in his announcement, saying only that ``a number of people were arrested some days ago and (Tuesday) in Medina,'' the state-run Saudi Press Agency said.

Saudi officials have detained about 100 people since the Riyadh car bombings, which targeted three residential compounds housing many Westerners. Still, U.S. officials worry about more attacks.
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2003 © The Associated Press.

Dan