Interpol Asked to Trace 18 Saudi Suspects
Samir Al-Saadi, Arab News

JEDDAH, 24 September 2005 — Saudi Arabia has passed onto the Interpol the names of 18 of its most wanted terror suspects and asked it to trace them, a senior security official said.

Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, official spokesman of the Interior Ministry, said the ministry had published the list of wanted terror suspects outside the Kingdom. “It’s an alert to all countries that these men are wanted by the Saudi government for security reasons and also a notice to the ports of those countries to arrest them upon identification and hand them over to Saudi authorities,” said Al-Turki.

“This is not new. Details of individuals wanted for security reasons are passed onto the Interpol,” he pointed out.

Maj. Gen. Ali Al-Obaishi, a senior Saudi security official said in Berlin that the suspects, many believed to be living outside Saudi Arabia, were notified to Interpol last week.

I’m a bit surprised that this action is only being taken now. I’d have thought it would be nearly automatic that the names of the country’s most-wanted terrorist suspects would have been sent to Interpol with a request for action. Better late than never, I suppose.