Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Nayef suffers superficial injuries but escapes assassination in Jeddah.
RIYADH - Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, a member of the Saudi royal family who is responsible for the kingdom's anti-terror fight, escaped a suicide bomb attack in Jeddah, official news agency SPA said Friday.
The deputy interior minister suffered only superficial injuries after the suicide bomber got close to him and detonated his explosives on Thursday evening, the agency said quoting a royal court statement.
The Saudi wing of Al-Qaeda was swift in claiming responsibility.
In a statement posted on a website late Thursday, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula said it was behind the bomb, according to the US-based monitoring group, SITE Intelligence.
The bomber was the only casualty. Prince Mohammed was receiving guests at the end of the day's fasting during the holy month of Ramadan, SPA said.
The royal court said the bomber was a wanted terrorist who had approached the prince under the pretext he wanted to give himself up.
Saudi television showed images of the prince after the attack. The anti-terror chief did not seem affected by his ordeal.
---------------
Saudi security official survives attack -agency
28 Aug 2009 07:06:59 GMT
Source: Reuters
* Bomber was wanted militant
* First member of royal family to be targeted by al Qaeda
(Adds claim of responsibility in paragraph 5)
RIYADH, Aug 28 (Reuters) - A top Saudi security official has survived a suicide attack in his office in the Red Sea port of Jeddah, the state news agency SPA reported on Friday.
The attack was the first to directly target a member of the royal family since the start of a wave of violence by al Qaeda sympathisers in 2003 against the U.S.-allied monarchy.
Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, deputy interior minister in charge of security, was meeting well-wishers for the Moslem fasting month of Ramadan on Thursday when a man blew himself up with explosives he was carrying, the agency said.
The suicide bomber was a wanted militant who had insisted on meeting the prince to announce he was giving himself up to authorities, SPA added. It said the man, whom it did not name, was the only casualty.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the Saudi arm of the group, claimed responsibility for the attack, according to a message posted on Islamist internet forums and translated by SITE Intelligence Group.
Saudi-owned al Arabiya television showed Prince Mohammed, apparently slightly injured, meeting King Abdullah later.
"This will only increase our determination to eradicate this (militancy)," said Prince Mohammed, who is the son of Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz.
The prince has been largely credited with the government's recent success in crushing the violence.
Earlier this month, Saudi authorities announced the arrest of 44 militants close to al Qaeda and the seizure of explosives, detonators and firearms.
In 2004, militants rammed a vehicle laden with explosives into the entrance of the Interior Ministry headquarters in the capital Riyadh.
(Reporting by Souhail Karam and John Irish in Dubai; editing by Michael Roddy)
-----------------------------------
FACTBOX-Saudi crackdown on Muslim militants
28 Aug 2009 14:53:48 GMT
Source: Reuters
Aug 28 (Reuters) - A suicide bomber failed in his attempt to kill the prince who heads Saudi Arabia's anti-terrorism campaign, the first attack on a member of the royal family since the start of a wave of violence by al Qaeda six years ago.
Following is a chronology of incidents since the first major assault in Saudi Arabia in 2003, when triple suicide bombings gutted three Riyadh housing compounds and killed 35 people, including nine Americans.
2003
May 12 - At least 35 people, including nine Americans, are killed and 200 wounded in al Qaeda suicide bombings in Riyadh.
June 14 - Saudi police kill five militants and arrest seven others in a shootout in Mecca. Five police are also killed.
June 26 - The mastermind of the Riyadh attacks, is arrested.
July 3 - A key suspect in the Riyadh bombings and three other "wanted terrorists" are killed in a shootout.
Oct 22 - Nearly 600 have been arrested since the May attack.
Nov 4 - Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef says his country has thwarted a militant attack on pilgrims to Mecca.
Nov 9 - Al Qaeda suicide bombers kill up to 30 people in Riyadh, a day after the United States warned of terrorist raids.
Dec 6 - Saudi names 26 top suspects wanted in connection with "terrorist" operations and offers a $1.9-million bounty.
2004
Jan 29 - Saudi forces capture a militant and other suspects after a firefight in Riyadh in which five policemen are killed.
Apr 8 - One of Saudi Arabia's most wanted al Qaeda militants calls on Muslims to kill Americans everywhere and vows attacks against Arab leaders allied to Washington.
Apr 21 - Suspected al Qaeda suicide car bomb destroys a security forces building in Riyadh, killing four people and wounding 148 in the first major attack on a government target.
May 1 - Workers at a petrochemical site kill five Western engineers in a shooting spree in the Saudi oil city of Yanbu.
May 29 - Suspected al Qaeda militants killed 16 people, including Westerners, and seized 50 foreign hostages.
June 6 - Saudi gunmen kill an Irish cameraman for the BBC, and seriously wound BBC correspondent Frank Gardner in Riyadh.
June 8 - Gunmen kill an American employee of U.S. contracting firm Vinnell in Riyadh.
June 12 - Al Qaeda shoots dead an American in Riyadh.
June 18 - Kidnappers behead an employee of U.S. defence contractor Lockheed Martin.
Aug 3 - An Irish civil engineer who worked for a Saudi firm is shot dead in his office in Riyadh.
Sept 15 - A British engineer employed by electronics company Marconi is killed in Riyadh in al Qaeda attack.
Sept 26 - Al Qaeda shoots dead a Frenchman in Jeddah.
Dec 6 - Militants storm the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, killing five local staff and four Saudi security personnel. Three militants are killed and two captured.
Dec 29 - Two huge car bombs explode after militants try to storm the Interior Ministry and a security unit.
2005
April 5 - Two of Saudi Arabia's most wanted militants are killed by security forces in three days of clashes in Al-Ras. Twelve other militants also killed in the battles.
Apr 21 - Two suspected militants and two Saudi security personnel were killed in a gunfight in Mecca.
June 29 - Saudi security services issues two new lists of wanted persons after only two remain on original 26-man list.
Aug 8 - U.S. and British embassies among several Western embassies to close after intelligence reports of attacks.
Aug 18 - Security forces kill Saleh al-Awfi, believed to be the leader of al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia, in Medina.
2006
Feb 24, 2006 - Security forces foil two suicide bomb attacks at huge oil facility in the east.
Dec 2 - Saudi detains 136 suspected Islamist militants including a would-be suicide bomber.
2007
Feb 26 - Four French expatriates working in Saudi Arabia shot dead during a desert trip.
2008
Mar 3 - Saudi arrests 28 people suspected of seeking to regroup al Qaeda and carry out a "terror campaign".
Oct 21 - Saudi indicts 991 suspected al Qaeda militants for carrying out 30 attacks since 2003, the accused include clerics.
2009
Feb 7 - A former Guantanamo detainee who became an al Qaeda commander turns himself in to Saudi authorities.
July 8 - Saudi court condemns one person to death in first publicly reported sentences since 2003. The rulings involved 323 suspects in 179 cases with other sentences ranging from a few months to 30 years in jail.
Aug 19 - Saudi Arabia arrests 44 militants who planned to carry out attacks and seize weapons and electronic detonators.
Aug 28 - Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, deputy interior minister in charge of security, survives a suicide attack in Jeddah. (Compiled by John Irish; Editing by Jon Hemming)
-------------------
ANALYSIS-Saudi attack to raise influence of senior prince
30 Aug 2009 12:05:54 GMT
Source: Reuters
* Attack raises profile of Prince Nayef and allies
* Nayef is seen as a conservative close to the clergy * Nayef opposes reforms backed by Western governments
By Souhail Karam
RIYADH, Aug 30 (Reuters) - A failed attempt on the life of Saudi Arabia's security chief could strengthen the position of his conservative father, Interior Minister Prince Nayef, in jockeying within the royal family over who becomes king next.
The attack by a suicide bomber posing as a repentant militant has refocussed attention on the government's fight against Islamist insurgents, which Prince Mohammed bin Nayef has led since 2003, winning plaudits from U.S. officials.
"The security apparatus, embodied by Prince Nayef and even his son, will wield greater influence on the kingdom's policy agenda," a Western diplomat in Riyadh said.
The world's biggest oil producer, Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy without an elected parliament or rights to form political parties, where clerics of an austere school of Sunni Islam control mosques, education, courts and their own public policing body.
King Abdullah is seen as a supporter of Western-friendly reforms which aim to reduce the religious establishment's hold on the country that produced al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
But diplomats say he has been stymied(# An obstacle or obstruction.) by conservative princes like Nayef, who maintains close ties to the clerics and does not want to upset the traditional balance of power between the religious establishment and the Saudi royal family.
Liberals fear for the fate of reforms if Prince Nayef were to be put in charge of the country, diplomats say.
NAYEF'S PROFILE RAISED
Prince Nayef, believed to be 76, was appointed second deputy prime minister earlier this year, leaving him in charge of the country when King Abdullah and his appointed successor Crown Prince Sultan -- who are both in their 80s -- are abroad.
Prince Sultan has been out of the country since November because of unspecified illness and surgery, creating uneasiness over succession.
King Abdullah has set up an "Allegiance Council" of senior princes to vote on future kings and their deputies, but analysts say rivalry and jockeying for position in advance is intense.
The fight against al Qaeda raises Nayef's profile.
Newspapers in recent days were full of panegyric (A formal eulogistic =High praise or commendation> composition intended as a public compliment) articles about Prince Mohammed, with advertisements of thanks featuring the portraits of the king, crown prince, Nayef and his son.
"This attack adds to the credit of the interior ministry. It confirms the fact that Prince Mohammed bin Nayef has become the foe to beat for al Qaeda," said Khaled al-Dakhil, a Saudi politics professor. "It should get (his father) Prince Nayef a lot of credit among the senior royals."
The attack was claimed by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which has regrouped in neighbouring Yemen. Saudi officials had talked of their concern that Yemen could become the launchpad for a revival of the militant campaign in Saudi Arabia.
NAYEF CLOSE TO CLERICS
Nayef has had mixed success in persuading clerics to discourage radical ideology, which espouses violence against Muslims and Muslim governments seen as a un-Islamic.
Hundreds of suspects have been arrested since 2006 for seeking to form cells and Nayef admonished hundreds of clerics in 2007 for tacit or overt support for Saudis heading to Iraq. He said they were being used as fodder for suicide attacks.
"The level of trust between Prince Nayef and the clerics is unmatched elsewhere," a senior Arab diplomat said. "He has repeatedly criticised them for not toning down the rhetoric that breeds radicalism, yet they have always been like honey on butter."
Christopher Boucek, an associate in the Carnegie Middle East Program, wondered: "Will the attempted assassination of his son lead him to be more direct in dealing with the clergy? It will be very interesting to see how that plays out."
A stronger Prince Nayef could also embolden clerics in their opposition to reforms, since many of them argue that moves towards "Westernisation", such as relaxing the kingdom's system of public gender segregation, encourages a zealous reaction.
The secrecy of the ruling family and political system means there could still be surprises, the Western diplomat said.
"(Nayef) is becoming the strong man of the regime. But whether this is because of the opacity that surrounds the succession issue remains to be seen," he said.
(Editing by Andrew Hammond and Elizabeth Fullerton)
No comments:
Post a Comment