Saudi al-Qaida leader killed

SECURITY forces killed al-Qaida’s leader in Saudi Arabia, who topped the nation’s list of most-wanted militants, during a fierce gunbattle yesterday, an interior ministry official said.

Younis Mohammed Ibrahim al-Hayari, a Moroccan, was killed during a dawn raid by security forces on an area in the capital where suspected militants were hiding, the official was quoted as saying.

Three other unidentified suspects were arrested, and weapons, ammunition, computers and documents were seized, he said.

The clashes took place in the Rawdah district, an upscale neighbourhood in eastern Riyadh, interior ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Mansour al-Turki said.

The unidentified official quoted said al-Hayari headed Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network in the kingdom, which has been ravaged by terrorist attacks during more than two years of violence.

Al-Hayari topped a list issued on Tuesday of 36 most-wanted militants.

On Wednesday, Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef warned that more terror attacks were possible.

Al-Hayari was believed to have had close ties to Abdul Karim al-Majati, an al-Qaida leader killed in April 2005.

The Interior Ministry official said security forces conducted two simultaneous operations in eastern Riyadh to capture suspects and killed al-Hayari after a shoot-out, while arresting three other suspected militants who were not identified.

Saudi officials said al-Hayari, aged 36, had regularly disguised himself to avoid capture and had been previously spotted in Riyadh.