Minister of Interior Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz attributed Saudi Arabia's successive security achievements in quelling terrorism and apprehending those who carry deviant thought and thwarting their criminal plans to the wisdom of the leadership and its unlimited support for security forces in protecting the Kingdom's security, its citizens and expatriates and maintaining its resources and accomplishments. “I attribute these achievements and what the security personnel have accomplished in our beloved country to God's graces first and foremost,” Prince Naif told Okaz in a phone interview on Saturday, “and to the unwavering support from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz and Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, and then to the abilities of the Kingdom's security personnel, who have proven that they are highly capable and skilled in thwarting whatever threatens the stability and security of our beloved country.” Prince Naif added that the role citizens have played in this regard has always been positive and effective. “All Saudi citizens are required to cooperate fully and be on the alert for everything that may threaten their country's security, and do whatever they can to relay any information they have to the security facilities,” he said. Prince Naif hailed the positive cooperation between the Kingdom and Yemen in fighting terrorism and rooting out its elements. He reiterated the importance of the cooperation of all segments of society, including its religious scholars, thinkers and those with considerable knowledge of Shariah and thought, in fighting deviant thought and stopping it from taking hold forcefully and decisively. “Fighting terrorism does not only involve security,” said the Prince. “It involves the entire society.” Terrorists were planning to attack an oil installation in the Eastern Province and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) building in Al-Khafji, according to disclosures made by detained terror suspects. The Ministry of Interior Wednesday announced that 520 suspects were in detention for their links to terrorist activities. In their confession, the terror suspects said they planned to rig a car with explosives to target an oil facility, a security source told Okaz on the phone. They also admitted to receiving huge amounts of money to carry out these operations. One of them admitted to receiving SR500,000. Security forces were able to seize SR1.5 million in cash hidden in remote desert areas. The cells assigned to carry out these attacks comprised Mauritanian, Yemeni and Iraqi nationals. They were university degree holders who came to the Kingdom on private drivers' visas, the security source said. Yemenis outnumbered other foreigners in these cells. Saudis, however, were in majority. It became clear to the security agencies that the sources for financing Al-Qaeda cells in the Kingdom came from a regional country. Euro appeared to be the preferred currency for terror suspects. Security agencies had found over 100,000 euros when Al-Qaeda leader and founder in the Kingdom and the Gulf Yusuf Al-‘Iyeiri was killed in Al-Naseem District in the eastern part of Riyadh on March 16, 2004. The same currency was seized in several other operations. – Okaz __
