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Saudi foils 180 'terror' plots
02/07/2007 13:40 - (SA)
Riyadh - Saudi Arabia has foiled 180 "terrorist" operations by al-Qaeda since 2003 and averted a catastrophe in the oil powerhouse, the interior minister said in comments published on Monday.
"The security forces have caused the failure of 180 terrorist operations," local media quoted Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdel Aziz as saying.
If only 10% of these operations had succeeded the kingdom would have faced "catastrophe", he said, adding that the Islamist extremists' "huge plan" had been disrupted.
Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, the son of a Saudi construction tycoon, has vowed to overthrow the Saudi regime and install a radical Islamist state.
Prince Nayef said 9 000 people had been arrested during anti-terror operations over the past four years. Most had been released but 3 106 remained in custody.
His comments come a day after the kingdom announced the formation of special anti-terror forces to protect its vast oil infrastructure from attacks aimed at throwing the world economy into chaos.
Protect oil infrastructure
"Preparations are under way to put in place a force of 35 000 men to assure the protection of the industrial installations," the Al-Hayat newspaper quoted Prince Nayef as saying on Monday.
He said the first units from the new force would be deployed to protect oil infrastructure.
Security forces thwarted an alleged al-Qaeda suicide car bomb attack against Saudi Arabia's massive Abqaiq oil processing facility in February last year. Two members of the security forces and two assailants were killed.
Oil prices leapt in the immediate aftermath of that incident.
The kingdom has been battling suspected al-Qaeda militants since they launched a wave of shootings and bombings, many targeting Westerners, in May 2003.
In April this year the interior ministry said 172 terror suspects had been rounded up in one security operation, along with weapons and cash.
Some of the militants were allegedly plotting airborne attacks on oil facilities and army bases.
Saudi Arabia is a close US ally while also being the birthplace of the strict Wahabbist interpretation of Islam which is a cornerstone of al-Qaeda ideology.
- AFP
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