Persisting Inadequacies in Saudi Arabia's Counterterrorism Efforts Highlighted by Latest Attackers in Riyadh
By Evan Kohlmann
On the heels of a recent Usama Bin Laden audiotape urging Al-Qaida's militants in Saudi Arabia to rise and strike against the Saudi regime, Saudi security was forced into a bloody street battle on Dec. 30 in the capital Riyadh with over a dozen young Saudi men eagerly seeking martyrdom. The identities of these young men highlight the persisting inadequacies of Saudi Arabia's counterterrorism efforts--mistakes that could end up costing the Saudi royal family more than they are willing to anticipate...
Read the biography of Badr Mansour al-Subaiee on Globalterroralert.com...
Read the biography of Badr Mansour al-Subaiee on Globalterroralert.com...
One of the Al-Qaida operatives killed two weeks ago in Riyadh was Badr Mansour
al-Subaiee--hardly an unknown figure to Saudi law enforcement.
According to his friends, al-Subaiee was reputed to have fought alongside the Arab-Afghan mujahideen in both
Bosnia-Herzegovina and Afghanistan. In the latter case, al-Subaiee was able to
leave his homeland and travel to Central Asia despite having his Saudi
passport revoked, being officially forbidden from traveling abroad by
the Saudi government, and also being under active surveillance by the Saudi
secret police. Later, al-Subaiei was allegedly picked up by the Saudis and held for four years at a variety of high security prisons and interrogation centers--tortured for any vital
information he might possess.
By this time, the Saudis clearly understood that al-Subaiee was dangerous and a potential terrorist threat. Thus, the logic in summarily releasing him from prison into the general public is somewhat baffling. However, the utter failure of Saudi officials to monitor or track the movements of al-Subaiee after his release is even more perplexing. It is little wonder that three months later, he disappeared to rejoin the ranks of Al-Qaida in the Kingdom.
Perhaps it is time for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to stop giving second chances to its own mortal enemies...
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://counterterrorismblog.org/mt/pings.cgi/1157
