RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Al-Qaida-linked plotters hoped to reproduce the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, planning to send suicide pilots to military bases and attack the oil refineries that drive the economy of Osama bin Laden's homeland, the government said Saturday.
ADVERTISEMENT
Revealing new details of the purported plot, a government spokesman said some of the 172 attackers trained as pilots in an unidentified "troubled country" nearby, hoping to use the planes to carry out suicide attacks.
The spokesman, Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki, would not say where the training took place: "It could be Iraq, Somalia, Pakistan, there are so many troubled regions in the world. I can't specify."
The militants allegedly wanted to use planes "like car bombs ... to use the aircraft as a tool to carry out suicide operations," al-Turki told The Associated Press by phone from this capital city. Targets included Saudi military bases that militants had no other way of reaching but by blowing up an aircraft, he said.
"The last group (we) rounded up are carriers of al-Qaida ideology, working on achieving al-Qaida goals, which is to take over the society," al-Turki said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070429/ap_on_re_mi_ea/saudi_terror_sweep
DUMB move on the part of Al-Quaida. Until this they could at least rely on race and religion. Now he's hitting his own people?
Originally posted by AThousandYoungBin Laden and the Saudi Royals have had issues for years (they have him the boot) so radical terror striking at Arabia is pretty much a given. That combined with terrs not really taking it easy on any government just shows that no country can opt out or appease their way out of defending against terror.
[i]RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Al-Qaida-linked plotters hoped to reproduce the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, planning to send suicide pilots to military bases and attack the oil refineries that drive the economy of Osama bin Laden's homeland, the government said Saturday.
ADVERTISEMENT
Revealing new details of the purported plot, a government spo ...[text shortened]... this they could at least rely on race and religion. Now he's hitting his own people?
Something smells in this story though. 172 militants is a lot. It had to be several raids, probably over weeks or months, and no one got killed. That is extremely abnormal for raids on terrorists. They generally fight back. Hard.
Also, they sure as hell didn't get trained in Iraq. There isn't any flight schools there for your average Abdul to join.
Originally posted by MerkIsn't half his family already the government?
If he does want them, he has to bring down the current government first. Taking out their income seems like a solid tactic.
As for as I know he wants the money to be invested in the average citizen of Saudi Arabia (with presumably a nice amount set aside for himself for the effort and a brand new kidney machine) instead of financing US adventures.
I think I read that in one of their first party political pamflets somewhere...
Originally posted by shavixmirIf any of his family hold a political office of some kind, its not high enough to matter.
Isn't half his family already the government?
As for as I know he wants the money to be invested in the average citizen of Saudi Arabia (with presumably a nice amount set aside for himself for the effort and a brand new kidney machine) instead of financing US adventures.
I think I read that in one of their first party political pamflets somewhere...
Snd Saudi Royals financing U.S. Adventures? Dar al-psychopath will believe anything they make up I guess.