U.S. Department of State Country Reports on Terrorism 2005 - Saudi Arabia

Following the 2003 terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia, the government has engaged in offensive operations against militants. After the December 6, 2004, attack on the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah and the December 29, 2004, suicide bombings at the Ministry of Interior and Emergency Special Forces Headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi security forces carried out numerous operations, including at least four major ones that resulted in the killing and capturing of dozens of militants linked to al-Qaida. In August, after Crown Prince Abdullah officially assumed the throne, Saudi security forces staged successful antiterrorist raids in Riyadh, Mecca, and Dammam.

By year's end, Saudi security forces had killed or captured all of the 26 wanted terrorists publicized in a December 2003 announcement. Saudi Arabia first released a wanted list with the names of 19 al-Qaida members in May 2003, just days before suicide bombings at three Western housing compounds in Riyadh. All 19 of the individuals on the first list have been killed or captured.

In June, the government released a third list with the names of 36 wanted terrorists. By the end of the year, more than ten terrorists on that list had been killed or captured, in addition to numerous other militants and facilitators not previously named on wanted lists. At least eight Saudi counterterrorism officers died in the line of duty, in addition to more than 40 others killed in the previous two years. In recognizing the sacrifices of the Saudi counterterrorism forces, the government initiated survivors' benefits packages, including financial compensation, honor medals, and memorials such as naming streets after the victims. The Saudi Government also introduced public rewards of up to 7,000,000 Saudi riyals ($1,870,000) for information that leads to an arrest or to the prevention of a terrorist attack.

Nationwide public education and awareness campaigns sought to de-legitimize Islamic justifications for militant activities, while the Kingdom played host to two international conferences focused on terrorism. The Saudi Government also strengthened its capacity to target terrorist financing through the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the opening of the Financial Investigations Unit (FIU). In November, Secretary Rice established the U.S.-Strategic Dialogue, which includes a working group on counterterrorism. Overall, counterterrorism cooperation with the United States further improved following the visit of then-Crown Prince Abdullah to President Bush's ranch in Crawford in April.

The Financial Investigations Unit (FIU) originally chartered under 2003 anti-money laundering and antiterrorist legislation, opened on September 10. All banks operating in the Kingdom were required to notify the FIU of any suspicious transactions. In the autumn, the Saudi Government passed a new cash-carrier law that restricted individuals from transporting cash or precious metals worth more than 60,000 Saudi riyals ($16,000) into or out of the Kingdom. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials helped train Saudi officers to enforce these restrictions. The 2003 ban on collecting cash donations at mosques and commercial establishments remained in place. The United Nations Sanctions Committee did not designate any Saudi charities as supporters of terrorism in 2005.

Saudi Arabia took a prominent international role in organizing two major conferences addressing terrorism. In February, more than 50 nations and organizations attended the International Counterterrorism Conference in Riyadh, emphasizing their shared commitment to fight terrorism. The conference closed with the Riyadh Declaration, which calls for greater national, bilateral, and regional cooperation against terrorism, including preventing terrorist acquisition of weapons of mass destruction.

In December, King Abdullah hosted an extraordinary summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Mecca, with more than 50 Muslim nations participating. OIC members acknowledged the need to reform the Islamic community to counteract violent misinterpretations of Islam. In the summit's final declaration, OIC members vowed to develop national laws "to criminalize every single terrorist practice and every other practice leading to the financing or instigation of terrorism."

Saudi Arabia carried out a public awareness campaign against extremism in 2005 that included public service announcements, billboards, television programs, activities in schools and mosques, and information at sporting events. Antiterrorism advertisements were broadcast on Saudi channels and on Arab satellite networks. Part of the campaign aimed to personify the victims of terrorism in the Kingdom over the past several years. Top Saudi officials reiterated their anti-extremism messages throughout the year, including the Minister of Interior's declaration that terrorism is "the product of an aberrant ideology that must be fought." In September, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia called for the government to investigate religious scholars who issued unofficial fatwas that inspired violent acts.

Saudi Arabia's cooperation with the United States in combating terrorism was confirmed as senior officials from the White House, the Departments of State, Defense, and Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and other agencies visited the Kingdom. Also, Saudi Arabia provided the United States with information that led to the November conviction in U.S. District Court of Ahmed Omar Abu Ali for plotting to assassinate President Bush. Saudi authorities had arrested Abu Ali, a Jordanian-American, in Mecca in 2003 for his links to al-Qaida, and transferred him to the United States.