During a four-day raid beginning on September 4 in the city of Dammam, Saudi security forces killed five terrorists listed on Saudi Arabia’s list of 36 most-wanted issued June 28, 2005.  The individuals were Zaid Saad Zaid Alsammari, Salih Mansour Mohsin Alfiraidi Alharbi, Sultan Salih Hosan Alhasri, Naif Farhan Jalal Aljihaishi Alshammari, and Mohammed Abdulrahman Alsuwailmi.

"Saudi Arabia’s counter-terrorism efforts and security forces have become increasingly sophisticated and effective,” remarked Rihab Massoud, Chargé d’Affaires at the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington DC.  “Our security forces have now arrested more than 800 terrorists resulting in the prevention of over 50 terrorist attacks.  Terrorists have nowhere to hide in the Kingdom.”

During the raid, four security officers were killed and several wounded.  Security forces found at the scene ammunition, explosives and weapons, including machine guns, pistols, hand grenades, and pipe bombs, as well as other materials such as forged documents. A total of eleven persons of various nationalities were arrested under suspicion of involvement in the incident.

Of those listed on the Kingdom’s 36 most-wanted list, ten have now been either killed or captured.  In addition, the current total for Saudi Arabia’s list of 26 most-wanted issued in December 2003, is 24 killed or captured.

Earlier this week, Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud Al-Faisal urged the upcoming 60th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations to take a firm stance on terrorism by initiating the establishment of an international center to combat terrorism, called for by King Abdullah at the Counter-Terrorism International Conference in Riyadh last February.