Saudi forces capture militant stronghold in Dammam
Last Updated: Tuesday, September 6, 2005 | 4:35 PM ET
CBC News
Saudi Arabian forces Tuesday overran a seaside villa in Dammam where Islamic militants had holed up. At least nine people were killed in the three-day battle.
Officials said four policemen and at least five suspected militants were killed since the fighting began Sunday.
Security forces that swept into the building found several charred bodies, apparently those of militants killed in explosions -- suggesting the death toll would rise.
DAMMAM, SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi security forces guard the scene in the eastern Saudi city of Dammam September 6, 2005. (AFP/Getty Images)
One of the dead militants was identified as No. 3 on the country's most-wanted list, Zaid Saad Zaid al-Samari, 31, a Saudi sought in connection with numerous terror attacks launched in the kingdom since May 2003.
The fighting began when police raided a militant hide-out elsewhere in Dammam on Sunday. A group of militants fled to the villa in the Mubarakiyah district and barricaded themselves inside.
Security commanders had warned that the militants were heavily armed and appeared ready to fight to the death.
Tuesday's assault lasted for hours, with the frequent thud of RPG explosions. Black smoke billowed from the roof. Arab television at one point showed video of a bearded man, apparently one of the militants, clambering over the villa's roof carrying what appeared to be an explosive belt.
It was the fiercest clash in months in the kingdom's two-year crackdown on al-Qaeda-linked militants.
King Abdullah, who took over the throne last month after the death of his half brother, Fahd, has vowed to push ahead with the crackdown, and some have suggested he may intensify it.
Officials in the conservative, oil-rich nation -- a key U.S. ally -- say they are winning.
Since May 2003, Islamic militants have carried out numerous attacks, suicide bombings and kidnappings in Saudi Arabia.They have tended to target Westerners in a bid to cripple the economy. Westerners occupy important positions in the oil industry.
Al-Qaeda wants to topple the Saudi royal family because of its close ties with the West, particularly the United States.
But Saudi forces have claimed a series of victories in the past year, killing or capturing all but one of the figures on a list of 26 most-wanted militants issued in December 2004. They have killed or captured at least five from a new list of 36 militants issued in June.
In October, Saudi forces claimed to have killed the leader of al-Qaeda in the kingdom in a series of raids in the capital and the holy city of Mecca.
"It is clear from the Dammam operation that terrorism still represents a threat in Saudi Arabia. However, their backbone has been broken," said Khalil al-Khalil, a Saudi terrorism expert and member of the consultative council, which advises the king and government. "Now security forces are taking the initiative. They have the upper hand," he said.
