Top Riyadh suspect dead
A key Al Qaeda suspect in the Riyadh bombings blew himself up on Thursday as police surrounded his hideout in Saudi Arabia.
35 people were killed in the May |
Turki Nassir al-Dandani used a hand grenade to kill himself and two other suspected Al Qaeda terrorists who were hiding in a safe house in Jawf province.
“I can confirm that he blew himself up,” said a Saudi interior ministry official, adding he had no more details.
Al-Dandani’s name headed a wanted list of 19 suspected al-Qaeda members that was issued days before the triple bomb attack that killed 35 people.
Saudi-owned Al-Arabiyya channel said al-Dandani had used the hand grenade to kill himself and two associates after their safe house was surrounded by police.
It said a fourth suspect, who was wounded in the blast, surrendered to the police.
Al-Dandani’s death comes a week after the alleged mastermind of the attacks, Ali Abd ul-Rahman al-Faqa’asi al-Ghamdi turned himself in to the authorities.
On 12 May huge explosions ripped through residential compounds in Riyadh. It came days after top US officials warned Americans to be on alert for attacks.