List of Militant Incidents in Saudi Arabia - 2005

2005

• 26 January Saudi Intelligence chief the 72-year-old Prince Nawaf bin Abdel Aziz is relieved of his duties, apparently due to his poor health.

• 13 March Saudi security forces in Jeddah conduct an early-morning raid that kills one (Saed al-Youbi) labeled as a terrorist. One civilian was also killed; five policemen were wounded. Three other suspects were arrested. One was thought to be Ibrahim al-Youbi.

• 3 April through 5 April Saudi security forces launch the major Ar Rass raids against a three-house compound, 320 kilometers south of the capital. Fifteen terrorists, including Saleh Al-Aufi, reportedly the Al-Qaeda leader for Saudi Arabia were killed along with Talib Saud Al-Talib, also on the list of the 26 most-wanted persons. The gunfight lasted for most of two days and included the use of rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns and other heavy weapons. Students at a nearby girl’s school were in danger from the fire and were evacuated by police who broke down the rear wall to their building.

• 7 April Using information from the previous raid, security services killed Abdul Rahman Al-Yaziji, number four on the most-wanted list in a firefight in the Southern Industrial District of Riyadh. The newspapers report that only three men on the list of the 26 most-wanted are still at liberty. They are Saleh Al-Aufi, Talib Al-Talib and Abdullah al-Rashoud.

• 22 April A group of four insurgents dressed as women attempt to bluff their way past a security checkpoint near the holy city of Makkah. Women are forbidden to drive in Saudi Arabia. The police gave chase as the group fled in their car. They were surrounded in a hilly area near Umm Al-Joud southeast of the city. Two militants and two security officers were killed in the resulting shootout, an unknown number were wounded. The battle took place as the Western Region of Saudi Arabia was conducting its first-ever elections for local government councils.

• 9 May Abdul Aziz ibn Rasheed Al-Inazi is arrested after a shoot-out in Riyadh. His is described in the press as a leader of the Religious Committee of the insurgency.

• 18 May The United States Embassy issues a message that revokes the travel advisory for Saudi Arabia that had been in effect for a year.

• 16 June Security services announce the arrest in Riyadh of five Chadians who were described as 'members of a deviant group.' The detainees, whose names were not given confessed to the murder of Laurent Barbot in September 2004 as well as a number of armed robberies.

• 19 June Lt Colonel Mubarak Al-Sawat, a senior police commander in Makkah, was killed outside his home as he got in his car on his way to work. Newspapers report the killing may have been a botched kidnapping attempt.

• 21 June The killers of Lt Colonel Mubarak Al-Sawat are killed by security forces after a long fire-fight on the Old Makkah Road in the Holy City. Mansour Al-Thubaity and Kamal Foudah, both Saudi nationals, were fired on while fleeing police in a car, took another car and finally were killed while hiding in a building in a residential area. Three policemen were injured, one of them seriously.
• 24 June An internet site linked to Al-Qaeda in Iraq reports that Abdullah al-Rashoud, one of the few persons on the list of 26 Saudis most wanted has been killed by a US bomb. If true, this would leave only two persons ( Saleh Al-Aufi, the alleged leader of Al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia, and Taleb Al-Taleb) on that list unaccounted for.

• 29 June The security services issues two new lists of wanted persons. List A includes 15 names of persons suspected of terrorist affiliations and who are thought to be in the Kingdom. List B is of 21 names of persons suspected of terrorist affiliation, who are thought to be outside the Kingdom.

List A

(1) Younus Mohamed Al-Hiyari, 36, Moroccan. Killed 3 July 2005.

(2) Fahd Farraj Al-Juwair, 35, Saudi.

(3) Zaid Saad Al-Samary, 31, Saudi.

(4) Abdul Rahman Saleh Al-Miteb, 26, Saudi. (See entry for 28 December 2005)

(5) Saleh Mansour Al-Harbi, 22, Saudi.

(6) Sultan Saleh Al-Hasry, 26, Saudi.

(7) Mohamed Abdul Rahman Al-Suwailemi, 23, Saudi.

(8) Mohamed Saleh Al-Ghaith, 23, Saudi.

(9) Abdullah Abdul Aziz Al-Tuwaijeri, 21, Saudi.

(10) Mohamed Saeed Al-Amry, 25, Saudi. Captured 25 July 2005

(11) Ibrahim Abdullah Al-Motair, 21, Saudi.

(12) Walid Mutlaq Al-Radadi, 21, Saudi.

(13) Naif Farhan Al-Shammary, 24, Saudi.

(14) Majed Hamid Al-Hasry, 29, Saudi.

(15) Abdullah Muhaya Al-Shammary, 24, Saudi

List B

(1) Noor Mohamed Moussa, 21, Chadian.

(2) Manour Mohamed Yousef, 24, Chadian.

(3) Othman Mohamed Kourani, 23, Chadian.

(4) Mohsen Ayed Al-Fadhli, 25, Kuwaiti.

(5) Abdullah Walad Mohamed Sayyed, 37, Mauritanian.

(6) Zaid Hassan Humaid, 34, Yemeni.

(7) Fahd Saleh Al-Mahyani, 24, Saudi.

(8) Adnan Abdullah Al-Sharief, 28, Saudi.

(9) Marzouq Faisal Al-Otaibi, 32, Saudi.

(10) Adel Abdullateef Al-Sanie, 27, Saudi.

(11) Mohamed Abdul Rahman Al-Dhait, 21, Saudi.

(12) Sultan Sunaitan Al-Dhait, 24, Saudi.

(13) Saleh Saeed Al-Ghamdi, 40, Saudi.

(14) Faiz Ibrahim Ayub, 30, Saudi. (See entry for 1 July 2005)

(15) Khaled Mohamed Al-Harbi, 29, Saudi.

(16) Mohamed Othman Al-Zahrani, 44, Saudi.

(17) Abdullah Mohamed Al-Rumayan, 27, Saudi.

(18) Mohamed Saleh Al-Rashoudi, 24, Saudi.

(19) Saad Mohamed Al-Shahry, 31, Saudi.

(20) Ali Matir Al-Osaimy, 23, Saudi.

(21) Faris Abdullah Al-Dhahiry, 22, Saudi. (See entry for 1 July 2005)

• 1 July Newspapers report that Faiz Ibrahim Ayub (name 14 on list B) turned himself to a Saudi embassy, perhaps in Beirut. The government denies this.

The family of Faris Abdullah Al-Dhahiry (Name 22 on list B) claim he had been killed in Iraq in November 2004.

• 3 July Younus Mohamed Al-Hiyari (The first name on List A) is killed in a shoot-out with police in eastern Riyadh. Six police officers were injured in the clash which included the use of homemade bombs by the militants. Three men were arrested, but their names were not immediately released.

• 19 July Saudi Security forces capture a weapons cache in Al-Kharj south of Riyadh. The store included 1,900 kg of fertilizer, 125 kg of ammonium nitrate, aluminum powder, potassium nitrate and other chemicals used by suspected Al-Qaeda militants to make bombs.
• 20 July The US Embassy warns US citizens in Saudi Arabia to lower their profile and be on alert due to intelligence indicating preparations were being made for a terrorist attack.
• 25 July Mohamed Saeed Al-Amry (number ten on List A) is captured in Madinah along with two unnamed others. He was carrying an explosive device when he was captured.

The US Embassy restricts the travel of US military personnel in the Kingdom to home and office only in light of intelligence indicating planning for a militant strike.

• 1 August King Fahad dies and is succeeded by his half-brother Abdullah. Pundits predict no change in government policy as the crown prince had managed national affairs for several years during the king's illness.

• 8 August United States, United Kingdom, Australian and New Zealand embassies and consulates close for two days in response to intelligence. Reuters reports the British government believe a militant attack to be in the final stages of preparation. Saudi security forces increase activity across the kingdom with additional checkpoints presence. Military facilities increase security also. No militant activity or arrests are reported in the press.
• 18 August Saudi Security Forces conducted six raids around the kingdom killing four and capturing an unknown number of fighters. During one of these actions, Saleh al-Oufi is reportedly killed in Madinah. He was the fourth name on the original list of 26 most-wanted persons and has been described as the Al-Qaeda chief in the kingdom. He had narrowly escaped capture last year. His death leaves on one person on that list unaccounted for.

Newspapers also reported that Farraj Al-Juwait was killed by police near exit five on the Ring Road in Riyadh. Reports mistakenly indicate that this name was on one of the recent lists of most-wanted militants.

• 3 December Seventeen unnamed "terror suspect"s are arrested in a series of raids in Riyadh, Al-Kharj and Majmaa. The security services also claimed to have captured an undisclosed amount af explosives and weaponry.

• 28 December In separate incidents, Saudi security forces killed two wanted militants in Qassim.

Abdul Rahman Saleh Al-Miteb, (#4 on List A) was killed in Um Khashba after a routine traffic stop led to his killing two highway patrolmen. This set off a running gunfight that killed three more police officers. He was killed by gunfire, his body was holding an automatic weapon and a hand grenade.

Abdul Rahman Al-Suwailemi died in custody from his wounds after being captured elsewhere in the region. He was described as a computer expert who managed insurgent websites.