Saudi al-Ifta committee calls for cooperation in fighting terrorism; Saudi police exchanges fire with gunmen in Jeddah
Saudi Arabia, Politics, 6/5/2004

Security sources said that Saudi Arabia's police exchanged fire with gunmen suspected to be extremists Islamists today early morning in Jeddah city which overlooks the Red Sea and that the police are still chasing several cars trying to cordon them.

The fire exchange took place between the police and the extremists who were opening the fire from speedy cars, almost one week after an attack targeted al-Khober city to the east of Saudi Arabia and resulted in killing 22 persons, at least 19 of them are foreigners.

However, fears over the security condition in Saudi Arabia, which is considered the largest oil exporter in the world resulted in increasing world oil prices to high levels last week before oil producers vowed to increase production.

This incidents comes one day after the doubts raised by the leader of al-Qaida in Saudi Arabia, Abdul Aziz al-Muqqarin, in the story out by the Saudi government on the details and events of al-Khober attacks.

Al-Muqqarin denied in a statement at an Islamic website on the Internet that the Saudi government permitted the executors of the attacks to escape in order to safeguard the hostages, and he also denied the story which said that the attackers could not withdraw only after they sheltered themselves behind the hostages.

Al-Muqqarin also accused the Saudi government of lying when it said that the two attackers who were killed near al-Taif city this week had connections to al-Khober operation, despite the fact he indicated that the two men are Mujahideen. Al-Muqqarin also called for an organizational campaign against the Saudi ruling family.

On the other hand, the permanent committee in charge of scientific research and al-Iftaa in Saudi Arabia called in a Fatwa issued yesterday citizens and foreigners in the Kingdom to notify the authorities about persons involved in terrorist activities.

The committee which was appointed by the Saudi King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz and is chaired by the Kingdom's general Mufti Abdul Aziz Bin Abdullah Bin Muhammad al-Sheikh called on " citizens and residents to inform about every and each one who plans or prepares for committing destructive actions so as to protect the people and the country from the destructive consequences of these acts and as a protection for the planners of these acts themselves from the results of such horrible acts."

Previous Stories:
  One Saudi attacks Americans in Riyadh, gunmen killed in al-Taif   (6/3/2004)
  Some 22 persons killed in the attacks of al-Khubar, three gunmen fled   (6/1/2004)
  Several hostages killed in a breaking in operation in al-Khubar   (6/1/2004)
  Saudi- Yemeni border demarcation operations finalized   (5/28/2004)
  Pakistan voices support for Arab Peace Initiative, meeting with Saudi King   (5/26/2004)
  Turkey al-Faisal: the war in Iraq is a colonial one, and is about oil   (5/25/2004)

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