Riyadh : The security authorities have arrested 811 people of 25 nationalities on terrorism charges across the Kingdom in the past six months, according to sources.
These include an American, a French national and a Canadian. Weapons, explosives, various documents and electronic devices were found in their possession, Saudi Gazette reported.
Of the arrested persons, 634 are Saudis, 73 are Yemenis, 51 Syrians, 17 Pakistanis, 15 Egyptians, eight Palestinians, eight unidentified persons, six Sudanese, six Jordanians, five Indians, four Bangladeshis, three Chadians, two Iraqis, two Ethiopians, two Malians, a Canadian, Libyan, Malaysian, Filipino, American, Frenchman, Bahraini, Qatari, Kuwaiti and Lebanese. During the pursuit, four security men were martyred and 25 sustained injuries. This brings to total 3,692 people of 42 nationalities arrested in terrorism related cases since the Kingdom started pursuing them. Daesh (the so-called IS) was involved during the past six months in carrying out five terrorist operations in several regions of the Kingdom. The terrorist organization was able to recruit 110 people of various nationalities.
The terrorist operations in which Daesh was involved included Al-Dalwah incident in Al-Ahsa. Four terrorists carried out an operation that claimed the lives of seven citizens and injured 13 others. The security authorities pursued the terrorists and 88 of them were arrested at several locations. Two security men were martyred, one with the rank of captain. In another operation, four Saudis attacked Suwaif Border Guard station north of Riyadh. This resulted in the death of four Saudis and martyrdom of two security men. Weapons, explosives and explosive belts were seized and seven people including three Saudis and four Syrians were apprehended.
In a third operation, three Saudis carried out an attempt to assassinate a Danish expatriate in southern Riyadh, but they failed. The Danish man was injured. The fourth incident was in the evening of March 29, 2015. A security patrol in Liban neighborhood in western Riyadh came under gunfire from an unidentified car. Two security men were injured. The perpetrator was arrested and five others related to the incident were apprehended. In the fifth incident, the security authorities disclosed on Friday evening the details of the arrest of the Saudi suspect Yazid Mohammed Adulrahman Abu Niyan. Meanwhile, the Saudi citizen Nawaf Bin Sharif Samir Al-Onaizi is still on the run and the Ministry of Interior has offered a bounty of SR1 million for his capture. Abu Niyan and Al-Onaizi connived upon Daesh directives and shot dead two policemen and wounded two others on April 8, 2015.
Abu Niyan was accused of reckless driving when he was in the US as a student in 2012. The pursuit by the police in Ashland in Oregon State caused damages to two police cars. The cost of the damages reached US $12,000. He was drunk when he was driving. In the same year, he was detained for a quarrel with an air hostess on Continental Airlines. When Yazid Abu Niyan was a scholarship student in the US, 14 criminal charges were registered against him.