Several commanders of the Al Qaida movement in Saudi Arabia have transferred their operations to Iraq in an effort to fight the U.S.-led coalition.
Islamic sources said the movement of scores of leading Al Qaida fighters from Saudi Arabia has hampered operations against the Saudi regime. They said the Saudi members of Al Qaida have become aides and financiers of Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi in Iraq.
About 3,000 to 5,000 Saudis have been fighting the U.S. military in Iraq. Over the past few months, about 200 Saudis returned to the kingdom.
On June 23, a leading Saudi operative was reported to have been killed in a battle with U.S. troops in Al Qaim, near the Iraqi border with Syria. The operative was identified as Abdullah Al Rashoud, who was No. 24 on the Saudi Interior Ministry's list of top 26 fugitives. |