ABU DHABI Ñ Saudi Arabia says it has sentenced some of those
believed responsible for a 1996 attack in which 19 U.S. soldiers were
killed.
Saudi Deputy Interior Minister Prince Ahmed Bin Abdul Aziz did not
provide details of the arrest in connection with the bombing of the Khobar
towers located near Dhahran. Ahmed did not say how many people were arrested
or detail their sentences.
But he acknowledged that as many as three suspects remain at large. The
fugitives are believed to comprise two Saudis and a Lebanese, with the main
suspect identified as Ibrahim Al Mughasil, Middle East Newsline reported.
"A number of people are known to have been arrested, except for two or
three who are the masterminds," Ahmed told the Al Jazirah daily. "The rest
have been sentenced by an Islamic court. The verdicts will be announced at
the appropriate time."
None of the suspects are expected to be extradited to the United States
for trial. There is no extradition treaty between Riyad and Washington.
For its part, the United States, which more than a year ago extradited
to Riyad a Saudi national linked to Khobar, has charged 14 people with being
involved in the attack. All but one were Saudi nationals and linked to the
Saudi Hizbullah organization.
Western diplomatic sources said the organizers of the Khobar attack fled
to Iran. The sources said the Saudi announcement was issued after U.S.
pressure on Riyad to demonstrate progress in Riyad's investigation of the
blast.
