Saudis air force maintained constant surveillance of pilgrims as Iran threat loomed
Monday, November 30, 2009 E-Mail this story Free Headline Alerts
ABU DHABI Ñ Saudi Arabia's military joined security efforts this year for the Haj and nearly two million pilgrims, due to the threat of Iranian unrest.
Officials said Saudi King Abdullah oversaw one of the largest security efforts in years. They said Saudi officers, backed by combat air, naval and ground assets, tracked infiltrators and maintained order during the Haj, which took place in Mecca.
"This year we have checked their infiltration considerably," Royal Saudi Air Force Lt. Cmdr. Abdul Ilah Rageh Al Katheeri said.
For the first time, the Saudi Interior Ministry coordinated with the military and other government ministries to identify and track threats. The ministry also assembed an air fleet that maintained constant surveillance over the Mecca area.
"The preparation for the Haj operation is a round-the-year process, but actual ground preparations begin three or four months before Haj," Al Katheeri, chief of operations at King Fahd air base, said. "And we start flying regular sorties from the 1st of Dul Hijah."
In a briefing on Nov. 26, Al Katheeri outlined operations by the Saudi air force. He said pilgrims were constantly monitored by a helicopter fleet during their trek from Mina to Mount Arafat.
"During our surveillance we keep a watch on the movement of people who smuggle illegal pilgrims into the holy sites for Haj," Al Katheeri said. "The moment we notice any such activity we inform our ground support personnel who immediately intercept them."
The quiet was maintained despite threats by Iran, angered by restrictions on the Haj. Officials said Iranians largely observed Saudi regulations, particularly during the trek around Mount Arafat.
"No one was arrested," Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour Al Turki told a news conference on late Nov. 27.
The air force has been flying at least eight helicopters around Mecca to monitor the Haj. The fleet contained an air ambulance.
The Saudi military has acknowledged infiltration of the Arab kingdom by Shi'ite rebels from Yemen. A senior Saudi officer told King Abdullah on Nov. 27 that the rebels, said to have been supported by Iran, were expelled.
"The armed forces have responded to Your Majesty's order to clean out the land of the armed infiltration of a deviant and hired group," Maj. Gen. Said Al Qahtani, chief of General Security, said.