AL-QA’EDA PLANS MORE ATTACKS ON THE AMERICANS IN PERSIAN GULF
DUBAI, 14 May (IPS) As Saudi, American and British intelligence and
counter-terrorism authorities are investigating the explosions at a compound in
Riyadh that killed at least 34 people and wounded 194 others, some of them
American and Western expatriates, a senior al-Qa’eda leader has unveiled the
organisation’s long-term plans to carry out more terrorist attacks in Persian
Gulf countries.
"We’ll attack the rear of the American Army", Abu Muhammad Ablaj, also known as Molla Saifuddin, warned in an e-mail message to "Al-Majalla", a sister publication of the Saudi-owned dailies "Al Sharq al Awsat" in Arabic and the English language "Arab News".
"The leadership and those who will direct operations have arrived. We have been waiting for the region to reach critical mass, and it has. What is important is that the matter will be resolved within a month at most", the message said
Al-Qa’eda, the terrorist organisation believed to have carried out the 11 September attacks in New York and in Washington, killing more than 3.500 people, is suspected to be behind the Monday night explosions of the "Al-Hamra" compound.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell, who had arrived in the Kingdom just hours after the blasts, condemned the "cowardly individuals who sneaked in the middle of the night to kill innocent civilians".
Interior Minister Prince Naif said nine suicide bombers linked to the al-Qa’eda network carried out the attacks. "These explosions were suicide bombings, which are unprecedented in the Kingdom", the Minister told "Okaz" daily.
"They are linked to the terror cell uncovered in Riyadh last week", he pointed out, adding that orders had been issued to raise the security alert throughout the Kingdom.
But Alblaj said only three of them are officially associated with al-Qa’eda", the remaining 16 had taken part in the Afghan war, he added, without identifying any of the attackers.
"The priority of Al-Qa’eda’s strategic goal was to carry out terrorist attacks on the Gulf countries and others allied with the United States in addition to operations within the US", he warned in the message.
"We are preparing for an intensive strategic course to make America pay for its invasion of Iraq. We are prepared to hit America as well as other targets, and it will happen soon and often, for we must inflict a mortal blow on the Crusaders", the message said, according to al-Majalla.
The al-Qa’eda spokesman disclosed the presence of large quantities of weapons and explosives in cities across the Persian Gulf where Americans have military presence, to carry out the planned attacks.
Ablaj refused to say how al-Qa’eda managed to collect these weapons and explosives. However, he claimed that the organisation was in a position to manufacture its own explosives.
Ablaj identified himself to Al-Majalla as supervising commander of the Mojahedeen training centre belonging to the Al-Qa’eda and Taleban, the former Afghan government that was toppled by the Americans after the 11 September attacks by al-Qa’da on New York and Washington, but refused to disclose the centre’s location.
Mr. Ossama Ben Laden, a wealthy Saudi national believed to be the leader of al-Qa’eda and the mastermind behind the 11 September explosions, is on the run, probably hiding somewhere in Pakistan amongst the millions of Afghan refugees, most of them on the borders between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
"Our attack plans are moving ahead without major changes. The day is approaching when there will be proof of what I am saying," he said, adding that the upcoming attacks would be much stronger.
Ablaj had sent another e-mail message to the magazine on 7 April warning that the group had completed preparations for a major terrorist operation aimed at both governments and the retreating American Army, but it decided not to publish it, Arab News said on Wednesday.
Ablaj has not previously been heard of as an al-Qa’eda operative, but the Al Majalla, a well-respected publications in the Arab world, said he had been in touch with them since early April, promising anti-US attacks.
"With all the experience of guerrilla warfare it has gained in Afghanistan and Chechnya, al-Qa’eda will move the battle to the Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula, and air bases, warships and military bases will become targets," the magazine quoted Ablaj as saying.
Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, who is the country’s de facto ruler, said he Saudi government and people would not be deterred by Monday’s terror attacks. "We will fight terrorism together", he added, describing the attackers as terrorists, criminals and butchers"
In his televised address, the prince, who is also the Commander of the National Guard also warned that those who sympathize with terrorists and try to find justification for their acts in the name of religion would be considered accomplices. "We say that anyone who tries to do so will be considered a full accomplice to the terrorists and will meet the same fate," the prince said. ENDS RIYADH BOMB BLAST 14503