FMR Saudi Sergeant new head of AL-Q in Saudi Arabia

[MKSheppard]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/saudi/story/0 ... 50,00.html

A former sergeant in the Saudi security forces has been appointed head of al-Qaida in the kingdom after the death of Abd al-Aziz al-Muqrin, the previous leader, in a gun battle on Friday.

Paying tribute to Muqrin for "having prepared sincere men from among the combatants to succeed him and carry on the jihad", an internet statement signed by "al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula" named the terror group's new commander as Salih al-Oufi.

Oufi, 38, was allegedly among the 19 militants who started a wave of attacks just over a year ago with the bombing of housing compounds in Riyadh that left 35 people dead.

He is believed to be a cousin of Majed Moqed, one of five hijackers aboard the American Airlines plane that crashed into the Pentagon on September 11 2001.

Oufi grew up in the holy city of Medina and after his secondary education joined the Saudi national security defence training school. He later became a prison guard, rising to the rank of sergeant in 1989.

He was eventually dismissed for "unbecoming" conduct and in 1995 went to fight in Chechnya, but returned after receiving a serious head injury.

According to relatives, quoted in the Saudi daily Arab News, he went to Afghanistan and met Osama bin Laden.

After the fall of the Taliban regime he returned to Saudi Arabia, where he is said to have been in charge of al-Qaida's recruitment, logistics and training, including secret camps in the kingdom.

He was No 5 on a list of the 26 most-wanted suspects issued by the Saudi authorities last December.

"Oufi might be more dangerous than Muqrin because he comes from the security ranks and is a Hijazi from the holy city of Medina," said Ali al-Ahmad, director of the Saudi Institute, a pro-reform organisation in Washington.

"He might also be a more effective al-Qaida leader. He is older, spent more time in the country than Muqrin, and is more familiar with al-Qaida's network in Saudi Arabia, as he was one of those who built it."

The swift replacement of Muqrin by Oufi appears to confirm that despite numerous arrests and killings, the militant groups are able to regenerate themselves.

Tightened security in the kingdom has made it harder to carry out elaborate attacks such as the May 12 bombings last year, but random killings and abductions are no less effective, according to Kevin Rosser, an analyst at security consultants Control Risks.

"They are much more psychologically powerful than the earlier attacks."

The highly trained and organised militant groups are only part of the problem, he said. "There's a second type - mainly amateurs being drawn into these movements."

One example of the second type was the attack in Yanbu last month in which five westerners died, he said. Three of the four gunmen had no previous record of militancy.

After the beheading of the American hostage, Paul Johnson, on Friday, Saudi leaders reiterated their promise to deal firmly with terrorism.

"These people have followed the devil," said Prince Naif, who has run the interior ministry for almost 30 years.

But crackdowns alone may not work.

Despite promises of democratic reform, progress on the ground has been slow, and Prince Naif is widely regarded as one of the major obstacles.

A speech issued at the weekend in the name of King Fahd (who is largely incapacitated) again referred to plans for municipal elections, but did not say when they would be held - implying a retreat from the October date originally set.

[Sarevok]

Al-Queda is like the seven headed Hydra snake. Cut off one head and another head spawns soon after.