Al Asiri, code-named Abu Salah, was said to have been trained in Yemen
in bomb production. In September 2009, Al Asiri was said to have designed a
bomb inserted in the rectum of his brother
and meant to kill Saudi Deputy Interior Minister Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef,
deemed the architect of Riyad's counter-insurgency program. The bomb killed
Al Asiri's younger brother, Abdullah, and the Saudi official was slightly
injured, Middle East Newsline reported.
Saudi Arabia has long sought the 29-year-old Al Asiri. The Interior
Ministry, which designated Al Asiri a leading fugitive, said he had been
planning to bomb Saudi critical sites, particularly energy facilities.
Al Asiri was said to have developed methods of assembling tiny bombs
with PETN, or pentaerythritol tetranitrate. Officials said the two parcel
bombs, sent from Yemen and seized in Britain and the United Arab Emirates on
Oct. 28, contained PETN and lead azide. The parcels were said to have
escaped initial detection by U.S. investigators.
Officials said Al Asiri fled Saudi Arabia for Yemen around 2006 and
helped assemble bombs, mortars and missiles. They said Al Asiri focused on
manufacturing highly-lethal chemicals to produce miniature bombs that could
escape detection by law enforcement agencies.
In December 2009, Al Asiri was believed to have supplied the bomb that
was smuggled aboard a U.S. passenger flight from Europe to Detroit. The
bomb, worn by a Nigerian national, failed to explode.
Officials said Al Asiri was believed to be one of the five leaders of
AQAP. Another leader was identified as Yemeni cleric Anwar Al Awlaki, wanted
by the United States for the 2009 attempted jet bombing. On Nov. 2, Al
Awalki was tried in absentia in a Sanaa court.
Over the last year, Al Asiri has raised his profile. In Al Qaida's
online magazine in September 2009, Al Asiri recalled his escape from Saudi
Arabia to Yemen as well as his earlier arrest by Saudi police.
"They put me in prison and I began to see the depths of [the Saudi]
servitude to the crusaders and their hatred for the true worshippers of God,
from the way they interrogated me," Asiri said.
Al Asiri was said to have formed AQAP along with Nasser Al Wahishi. In
January 2009, Al Wahishi, a former aide to Al Qaida founder Osama Bin Laden,
was declared leader of AQAP. Al Wahishi's deputy was identified as Said Al
Shihri, also a Saudi.
Officials said Al Asiri has long sought to attack the United States. In
September, they said, Al Asiri assembled non-explosive parcels sent
from Yemen in what was deemed a dry run for the October attack.
On Nov. 2, Yemen launched another operation to capture Al Asiri.
Officials said the operation by military and security forces has focused on
the southern provinces of Maarib and Shabwa.
Officials said information on Al Asiri was provided by another AQAP
operative, Jabir Al Faifi. They said Al Faifi surrendered to Saudi
authorities in September and reported the parcel bomb plot. Riyad then
informed the United States and the European Union.
"There has been an intensive Saudi effort to infiltrate the terrorist
network in Yemen," another official said.
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