RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Aug 28, (Agencies): Hours after being lightly wounded by a suicide bomber, a senior Saudi prince largely credited with the kingdom’s aggressive anti-terrorism efforts said Friday he was more determined than ever to fight militants in the country. The bombing was the first assassination attempt against a member of the royal family in decades and was also the first significant attack by militants in the kingdom since 2006. Saudi Arabia has waged a fierce crackdown on al-Qaeda militants in the country that succeeded in killing or capturing most of its leaders after a string of attacks that started in 2003. Since the crackdown, al-Qaeda’s branch in the kingdom has largely moved its operations to neighboring Yemen, where instability and poverty have enabled it to take root. Saudi officials have repeatedly expressed concerns that turmoil in Yemen, where the government lacks control of large areas outside the capital, could allow al-Qaeda to carry out cross-border attacks in its territory.

The suicide bomber who targeted the assistant interior minister, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, late Thursday night blew himself up while waiting in line to enter a gathering of well-wishers for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan at the official’s home in Jiddah, said Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki. Prince Mohammed, who is the son of Interior Minister Prince Nayef, told King Abdullah when the ruler visited him in the hospital Friday shortly after the assassination attempt that the attacker was a wanted militant who had indicated he was going to turn himself in. “I did not want him to be searched, but he surprised me by blowing himself up,” said Prince Mohammed, who was shown on state television with a bandage around two of his fingers on his left hand. “However, this will only increase my determination” to fight terrorism in the kingdom, he said. Al-Turki said authorities were still investigating exactly how the attacker detonated his explosives while waiting to enter Prince Mohammed’s home. It is customary for senior members of the royal family to hold regular open gatherings during Ramadan where citizens can air grievances, seek settlement of financial or other disputes or offer congratulations.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the Saudi arm of the group, claimed responsibility for Thursday’s bombing attempt, according to a message posted on Islamist internet forums and translated by SITE Intelligence Group.
The Interior Ministry has spearheaded the kingdom’s aggressive campaign against terrorism. On Aug. 19, authorities announced the arrest of 44 suspected militants with al-Qaeda links in a yearlong sweep that also uncovered dozens of machine guns and electronic circuits for bombs.
Last month, Saudi officials said a criminal court had convicted and sentenced 330 al-Qaeda militants to jail terms, fines and travel bans in the country’s first known trials for suspected members of the terror group.
The 330 are believed to be among the 991 suspected militants that the interior minister has said have been charged with participating in terrorist attacks over the past five years.

But Saudi officials have recently expressed concern that al-Qaeda could capitalize on the increasingly tense situation in Yemen, where the government is battling Shiite rebels in areas close to the Saudi border, to smuggle fighters into the country.
Al-Qaeda militants, including fighters returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, have established sanctuaries in Yemen, particularly in three provinces bordering Saudi Arabia known as the “triangle of evil” because of the heavy militant presence.
In January, militants announced the creation of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a merger between the terror network’s Yemeni and Saudi branches, led by Naser Abdel-Karim al-Wahishi, a Yemeni who was once a close aide to bin Laden.
His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on Friday sent a cable to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia, in which he strongly denounced the terrorist attack that targeted Prince Mohammad Bin Nayef Bin Abdulaziz.

HH the Amir, in the cable, reaffirmed Kuwait’s repudiation of such terrorist acts that contradict with the teachings of Islam, praying to Allah all mighty to preserve Saudi Arabia under the leadership of King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz.
HH the Amir also sent similar cables to Crown Prince, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector-General Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Second Deputy Premier, Minister of Interior Nayef Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud and to Assistant of the Minister of Interior for Security Affairs Mohammad Bin Nayef Bin Abdulaziz.
HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah also sent similar cables.

The Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Abdulrahman Al-Attiyah condemned on Friday the failed suicide attempt which targeted Prince Mohammd bin Naif bin Abdul-Aziz.
Al-Attiyah congratulated in a press release Saudi Arabia King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz, Prince Naif bin Abdul-Aziz, and the Saudi people for the safety of the Saudi Interior official.
The Secretary General said such failed terrorist act would not succeed in shaking stability and security of the Kingdom under its wise leadership which exerts all efforts to bring security and stability to the Saudi people and expatriates.
Al-Attiyah stressed importance that such criminal acts done by this group indicated the lawfulness and illegitimacy of its action, noting on GCC countries’ rejected terrorism and its various forms.

The French government strongly condemned Friday the attack carried out against Saudi Arabia’s Assistant Interior Minister Prince Mohammed and vowed to support the Kingdom in its fight against terrorism.
The Saudi official was apparently victim of a suicide attack at his palace but escaped with minor injuries and was treated at hospital.
“France condemns in the firmest way the attack against Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef,” an official statement said.
Expressing sympathy and best wishes for a speedy recovery, the French Foreign Ministry said that “France, which condemns all forms of terrorism, stands on the side of Saudi Arabia in its fight against this scourge.” Prince Mohammed is a key figure in the fight against terrorism in Saudi Arabia and he is the first leading member of the Royal family to be targeted in the Kingdom since 1975.