The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), with the close cooperation of the government of Saudi Arabia, thwarted a plot to destroy an airplane in flight. Asharq Alawsat carries this Reuters story reporting that a Saudi-controlled double-agent had infiltrated the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and had been accepted as a volunteer suicide bomber. Once given the explosives, in the form or an ‘underwear bomb’, he reported to US authorities and the plot was ruined.

Saudi intelligence, CIA infiltrated al Qaeda in Yemen: reports

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A bomber from the al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen sent to blow up a U.S.-bound airliner last month was actually a double agent who infiltrated the group and volunteered for the suicide mission, U.S. media reported on Tuesday.

Working closely with the CIA, Saudi Arabia’s intelligence agency placed the operative inside al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, with the goal of convincing his handlers to give him a new type of non-metallic bomb for the mission, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Western intelligence agencies have identified AQAP as among the most dangerous and determined al Qaeda affiliates in the world, dedicated in part to attacks on the West.

The explosive device was intended to be smuggled aboard an aircraft undetected and then detonated.

The double agent arranged instead to deliver the device to U.S. and other intelligence authorities waiting outside Yemen, the LA Times reported. The agent arrived safely in an unidentified country and is being debriefed.
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Arab News reports that the government of Yemen was unaware of the plot and its thwarting.

UPDATE: Asharq Alawsat reports on the White House’s gratitude toward Saudi Arabia and its counter-intelligence apparatus:

We’re indebted to Saudi Arabia- White House

London’s The Independent reports on a Wikileaks release from 2009 in which US Secretary of State Clinton says that Saudi Arabia was still a problem when it came to terrorist financing. The Saudis, she noted, lacked sufficient control over the flow of money out of the Kingdom and that the money was ending up in terrorist demands. Both Saudi nationals and foreigners in Saudi Arabia were channeling funds toward improper ends. The fact that Saudi Arabia has difficulty in monitoring the millions of people who come in for Haj was highlighted in several cables, including one from the late Richard Holbrooke, then Special Advisor on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

This matter seems to have been the target of the recently-announced anti-money laundering program. While that program will greatly reduce slippage among financial institutions, there still remains the problem of cash. The country does have laws that require the documentation of large amounts of cash moving in or out of the country, but enforcement of those laws is difficult. They are particularly difficult when it comes to pilgrims who, indeed, bring large amounts with them to pay for their keep while in Mecca and Medina. Too, many pilgrims still look to Haj as an opportunity to sell goods in order to defray their costs, often resulting in a profit. I’m not sure how the government could address these issues beyond requiring that all expenses be pre-paid and banning pilgrims from any sort of trade. That’s more easily said than done.

Saudi Arabia is ‘biggest funder of terrorists’
Rob Hastings

Saudi Arabia is the single biggest contributor to the funding of Islamic extremism and is unwilling to cut off the money supply, according to a leaked note from Hillary Clinton.

The US Secretary of State says in a secret memorandum that donors in the kingdom still “constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide” and that “it has been an ongoing challenge to persuade Saudi officials to treat terrorist financing emanating from Saudi Arabia as a strategic priority”.

In a separate diplomatic cable published by WikiLeaks last night, the militant group which carried out the Mumbai bombings in 2008, Lashkar-e-Toiba, is reported to have secured money in Saudi Arabia via one of its charity offshoots which raises money for schools.
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Late last month, a Saudi Arabian diplomat was kidnapped near Aden, in southern Yemen. His whereabouts are unknown and the motives for his kidnap unclear. Now, Arab News reports, a member of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQIP) has demanded money and the release of prisoners held in Saudi jails for the diplomat’s return.

I think it unlikely that his demands will be met, but Saudi Arabia is not of the school that utterly refuses to negotiate with terrorists. I don’t think prisoners will be released – or at least not many of them – but a cash payment could happen. Whether that satisfies Al-Qaeda is another matter. They may chose to make a point by killing the diplomat.

Oddly, the Saudi diplomat, Abdullah Al-Khalidi, had had an earlier run-in with thugs. Last year, he had been stopped in his car and belongings taken from it. That may have been a simple robbery. Combined with his current troubles, it suggests that Mr Al-Khalidi does not exercise good situational awareness. It also suggests that Saudi diplomats in Yemen may need to travel with armed guards.

Al-Qaeda seeks release of prisoners in exchange for abducted envoy
RIYADH: GHAZANFAR ALI KHAN | ARAB NEWS

A suspected militant wanted by the Saudi government has demanded the release of prisoners from Saudi jails and a ransom in exchange for Saudi diplomat Abdullah Al-Khalidi who was kidnapped by gunmen in Yemen on March 28.

The abduction case took a new turn after Mishaal Mohammed Rasheed Al-Shodoukhi, who was named on a list of fugitive Al-Qaeda militants by the Saudi authorities in 2009, made a phone call to the Saudi Embassy in Sanaa and demanded the release of some prisoners.

Major General Mansour Al-Turki, a spokesman of the Ministry of Interior, said in Riyadh yesterday: “The Kingdom is concerned about the safety and security of Al-Khalidi, who still remains in the hands of his kidnappers. The case is being followed by the concerned departments at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and we look forward to obtaining support from our brothers in Yemen to secure the release of the diplomat”.
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Saudi Gazette reports that Al-Qaeda is also threatening to escalate its war against Saudi Arabia.

There are conflicting reports about whether Al-Qaeda actually had any role in the kidnapping. Yemen is a notoriously lawless society, rent with tribal conflicts. Kidnapping by members of a tribe in order to leverage a deal with local government are not uncommon. Usually, those kidnappings get sorted out relatively quickly with no serious harm done to the victims. There are reports that this kidnapping was such a tribal affair, centered around some marriage issue. If that is, indeed, what it’s all about, then it’s a far different case than if Al-Qaeda is trying to grow its influence against Saudi Arabia.

Editor-in-Chief of Asharq Alawsat catches Al-Jazeera TV in a bit of a contradiction. He applauds the network for choosing not to broadcast video of the killings in Toulouse, France. He applauds the reasoning behind the decision. He questions, however, whether the standard the network says it is applying is actually it’s moral standard in the first place.

Perhaps Al-Jazeera has changed its standards, but in the past is seemed more than happy to broadcast images that supported terrorism, that in fact seemed to praise it. If this is actually a change, then it should be applauded. It would show a marked move away from sensationalism toward serious, objective reporting.

Thank you Al-Jazeera…But
Tariq Alhomayed

Of course we must say “thank you” to the Qatar-based satellite channel Al-Jazeera, which announced yesterday that it would not broadcast the images filmed by the terrorist Mohamed Merah, of the crimes he committed in the French city of Toulouse, where among those killed were young children. However, regardless of our gratitude to Al-Jazeera on this occasion, we must pause and think about where we stand on the subject of broadcasting images of murder, and how the media deals with terrorism.

Al-Jazeera, as quoted by a German news agency, said that it had decided not to broadcast the footage of Merah’s terrorist crimes, when he attacked a Jewish school in Toulouse, because the images contained no new information, and because broadcasting them would not be line with the channel’s moral standards. The truth is that this is not entirely accurate, and here is the simple proof: while I was searching the [Arabic] Al-Jazeera website for its statement declaring it would not broadcast the French terrorist’s footage – after the French President had asked television stations not to broadcast the images – I found, by chance, a previous Al-Jazeera press release under the “statements” section, entitled “Notice” and without a date, saying: “Al-Jazeera aired a news story last Thursday depicting alleged executions in the city of Karbala, Iraq. We subsequently found out that these images were false and that Al-Jazeera had broadcasted false news, as we discovered that the images accompanying the news story were not images of executions in Karbala, or anywhere in Iraq. It should be noted that Al-Jazeera immediately suspended the broadcast of this news item, having aired it only twice, after it was discovered that the footage was false. Accordingly, we have issued the necessary correction”. End quote!
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Arab News also runs the editorial.

As in many other things, Saudi Arabia is a bit peculiar when it comes to taxes. As a Muslim state, it supports the concept of zakat, the giving of a percentage of one’s assets to charitable ends. It is a religious duty, but as Saudi Arabia completely mingles church and state, it’s also a legal obligation. Generally speaking, a Muslim is to give 2.5% of his total assets (or the cash equivalent) to some charitable purpose, such as feeding or clothing the poor. Money or assets can also be put into a charitable foundation (waqf) pre-existing or established for a charitable purpose, e.g. a mosque or school.

Foreigner firms or non-Muslim entities doing business in Saudi Arabia are not required to make these religious donations. Instead, they are charged an income tax, currently at the rate of 20% of profits. Assets are not taxed per se.

Now, the Saudi government is working to regularize the collection of zakat. It will require all Saudis and Muslim individuals and companies from the GCC to officially report their assets and to pay the requisite sums annually. Failure to do so will lead to a summons and potentially a ban on travel outside the Kingdom.

Because Saudi Arabia lacked an overall income tax system in the past, it was unable to know just how much money there was floating around, never mind being able to track its movements. This led to an inability to track whether wealthy individuals were diverting parts of their wealth to terrorist elements and allegations of bad faith on the part of international organizations and countries trying to combat terrorist financing. The KSA was honestly unable to track the movement of money because it had no idea how much money there was. It did know how many Saudi Riyals were in circulation and how they were moving through the economy, but had no way of knowing what foreign assets were held by Saudi nationals. As zakat concerns all assets, not just those held in the Kingdom, it will now have a handle on some very important numbers.

The new tax regime will not be an income tax, but will require the annual recording of assets. This is, to my eye, more intrusive than an income tax, but as it’s coming from a different starting point, it seems rather straightforward. I do think it a proper role of government to understand how its economy works and how money flows through (or around) it. It should also help the country’s reputation when it comes to countering terrorist financing.

Zakat defaulters will be dealt with sternly, warns official
JEDDAH: GALAL FAKKAR, ARAB NEWS STAFF

The Court of Grievances will be the final decision maker in any dispute between the Zakat payer and the Zakat and Income Tax Department over matters of assessment involving this Islamic obligation, an official has said.

“The new Zakat regulation, which has reached its final stage prior to implementation, has been prepared after studies of expert committees and on the basis of relevant fatwas, ministerial decisions and royal decrees,” said Ibrahim Al-Mufleh, director general of the department.

The new regulation also empowers the department to summon any defaulter of Zakat payment in addition to banning a defaulter from traveling outside the Kingdom, he said.
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There is, as they say, ‘tension’ between anonymity and security. Being able to remain anonymous has great value not only for individuals and their protection from oppressive government, but for free speech and political argument in general. But anonymity also has a downside. It can be used with reckless abandon, avoiding any responsibility for one’s words or actions. It can also be used criminally.

The criminal potential of prepaid cell phones is now the focus of the government of Saudi Arabia. Arab News reports that the government will be proceeding with regulations that require positive identification when one purchases a prepaid mobile phone. Prepaid cell phones – known to law enforcement as ‘burners‘ or ‘throw aways’ – are handy. To buy one involves minimal cash outlay and no long-term service contract, both of great utility to people of modest means. In most instances, purchase also does not require any identifying information: all you need is the cash.

Unfortunately, because they can be bought anonymously, these phones can also be readily used for nefarious purposes. Viewers of the HBO TV series ‘The Wire’ should be well-acquainted with the concept. Anonymous phones are used in criminal and terrorist activity, such as being used to detonate bombs.

Is it an invasion of privacy to require people buying phones to provide identification? Off hand, I don’t think so. There are many other ways to be involved in politics anonymously.

CITC firm on use of ID number to recharge prepaid SIM cards
ARAB NEWS

RIYADH: Abdullah Al-Darrab, governor of Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), said the commission would go ahead with its earlier decision to enter the user’s ID number, together with a prepaid card number, to use a prepaid cell phone SIM card.

The telecom regulator aims to end the practice of misusing SIM cards by anonymous persons, including criminals, Al-Watan newspaper reported on Sunday.

Al-Darrab said, “We are still resolved to implement the decision. Telecommunications companies operating in the Kingdom had asked for a time period to make the necessary changes in their system to support the regulation.”
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Saudi Gazette reports that the Saudi government’s program of fencing its borders is moving apace. The northern border fence will be complete within a few days; the southern border, already dotted with fences at major crossing points, will be fully fenced ‘soon’. The fences will be (and in some cases already are) augmented with high technology listening posts and airborne drones. The Red Sea and Gulf have seen an increased presence of patrol boats of the Royal Saudi Navy as well as new electronic monitoring.

The borders are problematic for several reasons. The first is the infiltration of terrorists and weaponry, particularly now that Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has moved out of the Kingdom and into Yemen. Then there is general smuggling, of contraband like alcohol and drugs into the country and petroleum products, foodstuffs, and animal fodder out. Undocumented laborers from Yemen as well as East Africa have used the southern border as points of entry that are now being closed.

The shorter, northern border is less problematic in terms of terrorists entering, but its porosity has been an issue when it came to young would-be jihadis traveling to Iraq either directly across the border or by traveling through Jordan and Syria en route. The northern border is of concern, though, for the smuggling of contraband and weapons into the Kingdom.

812-km northern border fence to be completed ‘within days’
Saudi Gazette

RIYADH – Construction will be completed in the next few days on the 812-kilometer security fence along the Kingdom’s northern border with Iraq and Jordan, said Lt. General Zamim Bin Juwaiber Al-Sawat, Director General of the Frontier Guard.

Al-Sawat was quoted in Al-Watan newspaper on Saturday as saying that the fence will help the authorities tackle drug smuggling and infiltration attempts by Al-Qaeda operatives.He said the northern fence will provide protection for Arar, where the Frontier Guards’ command center is located, in addition to 18 administrative centers in the region inhabited by 371,000 people.

The Frontier Guard will soon start working on a border fence for the Kingdom’s southern border with Yemen and Oman.
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Saudi Gazette/Okaz report on new security measures being undertaken to assure the security of Saudi Arabia’s northern and southern borders. Both include fences as well as high-tech equipment and aerial surveillance. The goal is to stop illegal border crossings, whether for smuggling purposes or infiltration of terrorists or illegal immigrants.

New measures to improve border security — Official
Mansour Al-Shihri | Okaz/Saudi Gazette

RIYADH — The General Directorate of Border Guards has announced a range of new measures to improve border security. Under the new plan Border Guards personnel will be equipped with radars, cameras and marine sensors to detect ships.

The announcement comes as work on the northern border security fence is almost complete. Another security fence will be installed along the southern border.

Lt. Gen. Zameem Al-Siwat, Director of Border Guards, said the security fences built along the 890-km northern border will prevent anyone from sneaking in or out and any type of smuggling. As for the southern border, multiple-task radars, visual cameras, laser search machines and marine sensors will be installed.
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It’s approaching five years since a group of Saudis attacked a party of French tourists, killing the four males in the party and threatening the women. The accused are now in court facing charges that, if proved, will surely result in the death penalty. The ironic part of the story is that those they killed in the name of extremist Islam were themselves Muslims. The group is accused not only of murder, but also a variety of terrorist charges, from supporting Al-Qaeda to promoting takfiri ideology.

14 accused in French tourists’ murder stand trial in Riyadh
MUHAMMAD AL-SULAMI | ARAB NEWS

JEDDAH: A special criminal court in Riyadh began the trial of 14 suspects accused of murdering four French tourists and threatening their women.

They are also accused of supporting Al-Qaeda terrorist organization and carrying out a number of other crimes.

The trial, which was attended by a French consul and two relatives of the victims, saw the public prosecutor reading out the charges against the 14 defendants.

The first three defendants were accused of being directly involved in the murder that took place in a desert area about 90 km north of Madinah in 2007. The remaining 11 are accused of setting up a terror cell and providing support to the murderers.

During the session, the prosecutor explained the various roles played by the defendants in the crime. They are also accused of opening fire against security officers, seizing cars of citizens at gunpoint and taking money from the ATMs of Saudi-American and Saudi-British banks and possessing weapons and explosives.
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Saudi Gazette/Okaz follow up the report on the arrests of would-be terrorists who were targeting the Saudi Embassy and King Fahd Causeway. The article states that Qatari officials found documents that would have the men travel on to Syria; they also had Syrian, American, and Iranian currencies in their possession.

Terrorists confess targeting Causeway, Saudi embassy

DAMMAM – Members of a terror cell arrested by Bahraini authorities have confessed to planning to assassinate officials and blow up the King Fahd Causeway, the Saudi embassy, Ministry of Interior and a number of vital facilities.

Colonel Tariq Al-Hasan, spokesman for the Bahraini Ministry of Interior, said four of the members were arrested in Qatar. They said they left Bahrain and passed through Saudi Arabia illegally on their way to Qatar, then Syria and Iran. Their aim was to form a cell to carry out their terror operations.

The four suspects confessed to their relationship with a fifth suspect who was arrested in Bahrain. They were all referred to the General Prosecution in Al-Manama.

A spokesman from the Bahraini interior ministry said the suspects were arrested by vigilant Qatari Customs officers. They were found in possession of documents and a computer that contained sensitive security information and details about vital facilities. They had flight tickets to Syria and cash in American dollars and Iranian rials.

‘Lady Al-Qaeda’, the first Saudi woman to be convicted to crimes in support of terrorist operations in the Kingdom, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Arab News reports that she was convicted of a multitude of crimes ranging from harboring terrorists and raising funds for them to her declaring Saudi Arabia an ‘infidel state’.

The article also mentions another trial – this time, of a preacher/teacher – who is facing his own array of charges, including fitna, sowing discord in the country, through his writings and other activities.

‘Lady Al-Qaeda’ sentenced to 15 years in prison
MD AL-SULAMI | ARAB NEWS

JEDDAH: A special criminal court has sentenced a Saudi woman dubbed as Lady Al-Qaeda to 15 years in prison after she was convicted of taking part in various terrorist activities.

The court also prevented 37-year-old Haila Al-Qaseer from traveling abroad for 15 years after she is released. The sentence will be backdated to when she first entered custody.

The court had found Al-Qaseer guilty of declaring the state as infidel, giving refuge to wanted terrorists, instigating people to carry out terrorist attacks, and possessing two guns without license and handing them over to terrorists to attack security officers.

The defendant was also accused of financing terrorist operations and collecting more than SR1 million for the purpose. She had sent the amount to Al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen. She had also contacted Al-Qaeda members in Yemen and Afghanistan.
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The funeral of Crown Prince Sultan is now over – though foreign dignitaries are still coming into the country to pay their condolences. There’s not a whisper of speculation in the media about whether Pr. Naif will be named Crown Prince. Saudi media are getting back to their ordinary business. Haj is just a few days away and papers are carrying stories about improvements in facilities and services; they’re also carrying warning about those who try to break the rules of Haj, from illegal entry to the holy cities to attempts at political activity.

Saudi Gazette is reporting on the terrorism trial of those accused of participating in the attacks on residential compounds in Riyadh, in May, 2003. These attacks were the first signal recognized by the Saudi government that it had a very real terrorism problem of its own. Before then, terrorism was generally something that happened in other countries. And, even if a few Saudis might have been involved, it simply wasn’t seen as a Saudi problem. For the first time, Saudi nationals, including the son of the Mayor of Riyadh, were killed in the attacks, along with foreigners, including Americans in the country on contract to the Ministry of Defense. Suddenly, the chickens had come home to roost.

Riyadh blasts terror trial continues

RIYADH — The Specialist Penal Court Monday continued hearing the defense of 11 men accused of belonging to an Al-Qaeda terrorist cell. The men are charged with bombing three foreign housing compounds in Riyadh in 2003. The cell which was led by Turki Al-Dandani is also alleged to have carried out attacks on military bases, industrial and oil installations.

The bombing attacks resulted in the killing and wounding of 239 people including many innocent women and children.

The attack occurred late on May 12 when five vehicles packed with explosives and terrorist hit squads attacked the Durrat Al-Jadawel, the Al-Hamra Oasis Village and the Vinnell Corporation Compound residential areas in the capital.

At the Durrat Al-Jadawel, a car packed with explosives and five or six terrorists shot at and killed a Saudi Air Force policeman and an unarmed Saudi civilian security guard. However the terrorists’ bomb suddenly detonated, killing all of the attackers and a Filipino worker.

At the Al-Hamra Oasis Village and the Vinnell Corp. compound, the assault teams detonated both of their bombs, devastating the compounds and then opened fire and killed a number of residents.
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