P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News Staff

JEDDAH, 19 June 2003 — Interior Minister Prince Naif yesterday reiterated the Kingdom’s resolve to stamp out terrorism using all available means, and said the terrorist suspects killed or arrested in the holy city of Makkah last week belonged to the Al-Qaeda network.

“The criminals of Khaldiya district in Makkah belong to Al-Qaeda,” the prince told the Dammam-based Al-Yaum Arabic daily.

He said the terrorists, who planned a major attack in Makkah, were using Islam as a cover for their criminal activities. “It’s unfortunate they are Saudis,” he added.

It was quite clear that they were planning to attack wherever and whomever they could in the Kingdom, he said. “Their aim is terrorism and destruction, and they want to tarnish the Kingdom’s reputation,” he pointed out.

Prince Naif warned that those who incite and support terrorists would be considered to belong to them and given stiff punishment.

He said clerics Ali Al-Khudair, Ahmed Al-Khaledi and Nasser Al-Fahd were arrested in Madinah for inciting and supporting terrorism and sabotage.

Prince Naif disclosed that police had arrested 45 suspects in connection with the May 12 bombings in Riyadh that killed 35 people.

Those arrested in Makkah “are under interrogation to establish their links to the cell of 19,” suspected terrorists uncovered by the Saudi authorities just a few days before the May 12 bombings in Riyadh, the prince said.

Only six of the 19 members, who include 17 Saudis, are still at large, the minister said.

The possibility of terrorists carrying out more attacks in the Kingdom has “decreased, but we cannot be absolutely certain,” Prince Naif said.

He said 17 Saudis and one Palestinian extradited by Sudan last week “could be linked to the terrorist attacks in the Kingdom.”

Prince Naif commended the valor displayed by security forces during confrontation with suspected terrorists in Makkah last Saturday.

Meanwhile, Prince Naif met families of Guantanamo detainees in his office yesterday.

The prince assured the families of his concern for the prisoners and said it was thanks to government efforts that some of them had already been released. Others would follow soon, he added.