Al-Qaeda claims attack
2003-05-13 14:54
Dubai - Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network has implied it carried out Monday night's triple suicide bombings in Riyadh, in a message received on Tuesday by a Saudi weekly newspaper.
The group had "been planning major operations for a long time in the Gulf where it had stocked large amounts of arms and explosives," al-Qaeda operative Abu Mohamed Al-Ablaj wrote in an e-mail to Al-Majallah, which is published from London.
"The execution of this plan was not hampered by the recent announcement by the Saudi authorities of the seizure of large quantities of arms and explosives in the kingdom and the hunt for 19 people," al-Ablaj said.
He described himself as the "co-ordinator of the Mujahedin training centre" run by al-Qaeda.
At least 20 people, half of them American, died in the suicide bombings that rocked three expatriate compounds in Riyadh overnight and were attributed to al-Qaeda by US and Saudi officials.
Al-Majallah said it would print the full contents of the e-mail on Friday. - Sapa-AFP
- SAPA