JEDDAH: Saudi authorities announced Sunday they foiled terrorist attacks targeting a number of Saudi provinces, including one on Al-Jawhara Stadium in Jeddah during a football match between the Saudi and UAE national teams on Oct. 11.
Spokesman for the Ministry of Interior Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki said that the authorities, through monitoring of terrorist threats targeting security installations in the Kingdom and dealing with those linked to Daesh abroad, were able to identify and prevent plans aimed against the Kingdom.
He said law enforcement agencies were successful in raiding a terrorist cell made up of four people, based in Shaqraa, who had been planning activities targeting security forces based on orders from a Daesh terrorist leader in Syria. The members had been receiving direct instructions from him for operations. All four members, who are Saudi nationals, were arrested.
They were identified as Ahmad bin Mohammed bin Homood Al-Maeeli, Abdullah bin Obaid bin Mihmas Al-Osaimi Al-Otaibi, Abdulaziz bin Faisal bin Jafeen Al-Daajani Al-Otaibi and Mujahid bin Rashid bin Mohammed Al-Rashid.
Al-Turki said that during investigations, the individuals admitted a direct link between the cell and members of the terrorist organization in Syria, and that they had been monitoring a number of security officers working in Tabuk, Riyadh and the Eastern Province, pending instructions from abroad to target them through certain acts.
Six other members (all Saudi nationals) were also arrested for their links with the cell members, and investigations are underway to identify their exact connection with the cell and its activities.
On Oct. 9, Al-Turki said, information was obtained about a terrorist threat targeting Al-Jawhara Stadium at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah during the KSA-UAE match on Oct. 11 using a car full of explosives parked in the stadium鈥檚 lot. He said authorities dealt with the threat with upmost urgency and immediately deployed more officers and intensified measures surrounding the site to deal with any suspicious actions. Intensified field efforts to search for suspected parties successfully led to the identification and arrest of four individuals on Oct. 10.
They were identified as Saliman Arab Al-Deeni (Pakistani), Farman Allah Nagshbund Khan (Pakistani), Hassan Abdulkareem Haj Mohammed (Syrian) and Abdulazeem Al-Taher Abdullah Ibrahim (Sudanese).
The Ministry of Interior鈥檚 announcement reaffirms the continuous efforts by security authorities to combat terrorist activities and bring to justice all those involved in plans and efforts to breach the safety, security and stability of the country, and its citizens and residents.
Al-Turki also announced that during ongoing investigations into the cases of terrorism that occurred previously in the province of Qatif and Dammam, in which citizens, residents, security authorities, and public and security installations were targeted, the results of laboratory investigations of criminal traces left behind point to the involvement of the following people in the crimes:
Jaafar bin Hassan Makki Al-Mubaireek (Saudi 1065041715), Fadel Abdullah Mohammed Al Hamada (Saudi 1075107712), Ali Bilal Saud Al Hamad (Saudi (1086259171), Mohammed bin Hussein Ali Al-Ammar (Saudi 1028775482), Maitham bin Ali Mohammed Al-Qudaihi (Saudi 1055836306), Mufeed Hamza bin Ali Al-Alwan (Saudi 1065133108), Majid bin Ali Abdulrahim Al-Faraj (Saudi 1024360263), Hassan Mahmoud Ali Abdullah (Bahraini 2214679249) and Ayman Ibrahim Hassan Al-Mukhtar (Saudi 1046319834).
The Ministry of Interior is urging these individuals to turn themselves in to security authorities, and is warning all those who are dealing with these individuals that they are making themselves accountable as well. The announcement is also an opportunity for those who are exploited by these wanted individuals in providing services to them, to come forward to security authorities and clarify their positions in order to avoid accountability and charges of aiding and abetting terrorism.
Anyone with information is encouraged to report such information by calling 990 or visiting the nearest security point. Those who report information are entitled to a reward as per Royal Decree No. 46142/8 and dated Nov. 20, 2003, which provides for granting a financial reward of SR1 million to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest of a wanted individual, as well as a reward of SR5 million if more than one wanted individual is arrested. A reward of SR7 million is granted if information provided leads to the foiling of a terrorist operation.