ABU DHABI — The leader of Al Qaida was said to have escaped a
dragnet by Saudi security forces.
Saudi security sources said Saleh Al Awfi had not been trapped in the
60-hour siege of an Al Qaida stronghold last week. Two leading Al Qaida
operatives died in the battle in the northern town of Al Rass, but Al Awfi
was not identified as among the 15 insurgents killed.
"Al Awfi is still a fugitive whom the authorities are searching for and
continue to track," Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Mansour Al Turki
said.
Earlier, Saudi opposition and security sources said Al Awfi was one of
those killed in the battle. The opposition sources said Al Awfi's body had
been found burned in a wheelchair.
But Al Turki said Al Awfi, 33, was not identified as having been killed
in the Al Qaida stronghold in Al Rass. He said one body in the villa
attacked by Saudi forces remained unidentified. But he ruled out the
prospect that the body was that of Al Awfi.
Al Awfi has been identified as the leader of the Al Qaida network in
Saudi Arabia. In March 2005, Al Awfi released an audio message that called
for attacks throughout the Gulf.
Turki dismissed reports that Al Awfi fled Saudi Arabia. Saudi sources
said many Al Qaida operatives have fled the kingdom for neighboring Iraq.
