Top al-Qaida terrorist blows himself up in Saudi
A top al-Qaida terrorist wanted in connection with May’s Riyadh suicide bombings killed himself today, a Saudi Arabian official said.
Using a hand grenade Turki Nasser al-Dandani blew himself up along with two other militants when their safe house was surrounded in northern al-Jawf province, 550 miles north of the capital, said Arabiya satellite television.
A fourth suspect who was wounded in the blast later surrendered, it said.
Al-Dandani was being hunted for his role in the bombings of Westerners’ housing compounds that killed 25 people.
He became the most wanted man in Saudi after last week’s arrest of the suspected mastermind of the attacks, Ali Abd al-Rahman al-Faqasi al-Ghamdi.
Al-Ghamdi surrendered on June 26 at the home of deputy interior minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayaf.
Prince Nayef said then that “some important suspects” were still at large, and al-Dandani’s name was mentioned most prominently in local reports.
US officials predicted al-Ghamdi’s arrest would severely hinder al-Qaida’s operations in Saudi Arabia, and al-Dandani’s death is believed likely to further cut the group’s capacity to carry out attacks.
The kingdom is the birthplace of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, and home to 15 of the 19 hijackers who took part in the September 11 attacks.
Saudi authorities have detained at least 125 people since the May 12 attacks in a major sweep.
Last month, police raided a flat in Mecca where they found members of an alleged terrorist cell who they said were planning to carry out attacks in the holy city.
Prince Nayef has said he believes al-Qaida was involved in the Riyadh suicide bombings, when nine assailants blew up bomb-laden vehicles.
“I think it is al-Qaida (who executed the attacks) and there might be other (terror) organisations who helped or worked closely in the attacks,” he said.
The prince said this week that among the detainees were several individuals linked to al-Qaida, men who had returned from Afghanistan, foreign nationals and at least five women.
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