Saudi Arabia kills wanted terrorists 4-15-05

Saudi Arabia in Focus

Weekly publication of the Information Office of the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, DC
April 12, 2005

TERRORISM
THREE MOST-WANTED TERRORISTS KILLED

Saudi security forces have killed three more terrorists on the Kingdom’s list of 26 most-wanted that was issued in December 2003, bringing to 23 the total number of killed or captured. Two of them, Saud Homood Obaid Alqotaini Alotaibi (#20) and Kareem Altohami Almojati (#12), were killed during the three-day standoff that began on April 3 in the city of Ar-Rass, in Qasim Province. This incident resulted in a total of 15 killed, with five arrested and one surrendering. The third, Abdulrahman Mohammad Yazji (#24) was killed in Riyadh in a clash with a security patrol on April 6; a suspect with him was arrested. In all, over the four days, 16 militants were killed and 7 arrested. On April 9 the Interior Ministry published the names and brief bios of 11 of the dead and 3 of those in custody. [For this list, see the Embassy website, http://www.saudiembassy.net]

Crown Prince Abdullah and Prince Sultan have both praised the prudence of the security officers in the Ar-Rass incident in giving priority to evacuating residents. There were no fatalities among the security officers, although at least ten were hospitalized. Seized in the Ar-Rass raid were quantities of weapons, explosives, and equipment, incriminating documents and cash.

CROWN PRINCE URGES FIGHT AGAINST DEVIANT IDEAS
Crown Prince Abdullah has called for measures to combat deviant ideas by carrying out cultural and educational programs that explain the true teachings of Islam and drive home the merits of moderation and tolerance, declaring that there can be no acceptance of any aberration of Islamic principles.

GOVERNMENT
SHURA COUNCIL EXPANDED TO 150 MEMBERS
Membership of the Consultative Council (Majlis Al-Shura) has been expanded from 120 to 150 in addition to the Chairman Dr. Salih bin Abdullah bin Homaid and Dr. Salih bin Abdullah bin Mansour Al-Malik as Secretary-General. On April 12, King Fahd swore in the members for the Council’s fourth four-year term. At the Council of Ministers meeting on April 11, Crown Prince Abdullah commended the achievements of the Shura Council, saying it has made effective decisions in the best interests of the homeland and its citizens.

ECONOMY
SAUDI STOCK MARKET’S TASI CONTINUES TO BREAK RECORDS
The Saudi stock market recorded an all-time high when the Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) closed on April 7 at 11,694.84 points, a rise of 11.49 percent over the week before. The total value of shares exchanged amounted to over U.S.$22 billion, up $1 billion from last week.

SOCIAL
KING FAISAL INTERNATIONAL PRIZE 2005 WINNERS HONORED
The awards ceremony for the winners of the 28th annual King Faisal International Prize was held on April 9. This year the prize for Arabic Language and Literature was withheld, none of the entries qualifying. The prize for Service to Islam was jointly awarded to Dr. Ahmad Muhammad Ali, President of the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB), for his achievements in Islamic banking; and to the Al-Hariri Foundation of Lebanon for its promotion of Islamic education and culture.

The prize for Islamic Studies was awarded to Professor Carole Hillenbrand of the University of Edinburgh, for her clarification of misconceptions about the Crusades. The prize for Medicine went to Sir Richard Doll and Sir Richard Peto of the Clinical Trial Service Unit (CTSU) at Oxford University, for their research linking tobacco with various diseases; and that for Science was jointly shared by Professors Federico Capasso and Frank Wilczek of the United States, and Anton Zeilinger of Austria, for their work in the field of physics.

[For details, see King Faisal Foundation website www.kff.com.]

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This is distributed by Qorvis Communications, LLC on behalf of the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.