Saudi TV airs slain militants

2004-06-19 13:40

Riyadh - Saudi Arabia killed four suspected terrorists, including the reputed leader of al-Qaeda in the kingdom, the interior ministry said on Saturday in the first official word on a shootout after the body of a decapitated American hostage was dumped, and showed the dead militants' photographs on national television.

One of the photographs, the announcer said, was Abdulaziz al-Moqrin, the kingdom's most-wanted terror suspect. It showed the face of a young man, clean-shaven except for his mustache, that resembled past pictures of al-Moqrin, apparently dead. A trickle of blood ran from the mouth of another of the militants pictured.

"Security forces managed last night in confrontations with a group of terrorists to kill four of them, the top being Abdulaziz Issa Abdul-Mohsin al-Moqrin, who claims to be the leader of the gang that condemns people as infidels," the state-run TV announcer said, reading from a statement attributed to an unidentified spokesman for the interior ministry.

Responsible for many attacks

Al-Moqrin was believed to be behind numerous attacks on foreigners in the kingdom, including the kidnapping and ultimate beheading of Paul M Johnson jun, an employee of the US defence contractor Lockheed Martin, and whose death was reported on Friday.

Officials said al-Moqrin was slain in a firefight after police tracked down the car that dumped Johnson's body just outside Riyadh on Friday. However, a web posting on Saturday denied he was killed.

Earlier on Saturday, a message posted on a website used by Islamic militants denied reports of al-Moqrin's death. It said some media "have been propagating the false news that Abdulaziz al-Moqrin, God preserve him, has been killed. We would like to say that such claims, unleashed by the tyrants of Saudi Arabia, are aimed at dissuading the holy warriors and crushing their spirits."

- AP