Aljazeera airs tape of Saudi bombers
Aljazeera satellite channel has aired a video footage showing the bombers of a Riyadh residential compound minutes before they carried out their deadly attack last November.
Twenty-eight people, most of them Arab expatriates, were killed and 120 others were wounded in the attack.
The tape, which was broadcast on Friday night, showed grainy and shaky images of what appeared to be a car making its way towards al-Muhaya housing compound with men inside chanting repeatedly: “Allahu Akbar (God is great).”
This was suddenly interrupted by a darkened screen and what sounded like loud explosions, an exchange of fire and the interference of radio frequencies.
The videotape showed snapshots of a training camp in a place in “the Arab peninsula”, which is the term the bombers used to refer to Saudi Arabia. Recruits at al-Battar (sharp razor) training camp were shown receiving instructions on fighting, different kinds of weapons and remote explosion techniques.
According to the bombers, their attack came after their daily monitoring of the complex proved it was occupied by American and British nationals. But according to Saudi authorities, the complex residents were mainly Arabs.
Testimonies
The tape also included testimonies of two of the armed fighters before they carried out their attacks.
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“Our sacrifice is aimed at creating an Islamic state,” said Ali bin Hamid al-Maabadi al-Harbi, one of those who drove the explosives-laden vehicle.
“Many of the youth yearn for these martyr operations and in reality they are the most effective weapon against the targets,” said Nasir bin Abd Allah al-Sayari, who accompanied al-Harbi during the attack.
The tape also showed the car used in the attack being prepared. The car’s license plate was also replaced with one carrying the number 314 which is symbolic of the number of Muslim fighters in Badr Islamic Battle – the same name the Saudi fighters used to describe their operation calling it “Riyadh’s Badr”.
The video also showed a celebratory meeting dubbed “celebrating the martyrs”.
Condemnation
In an interview with Aljazeera, respected Saudi cleric Muhsin al-Awadi said: “It is heart-rending to see such youths who thought they had done well”. He condemned the bombing and the execution of the operation.
“Al-Muhaya’s attack was not expected from well brought up people and the consequences were very bad and disgraceful. That was not the way by which Westerners should be forced to leave Muslim states,” he said.