Chase ends with 6 Saudi suspects dead – 4 on death row for terrorism

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RIYADH, March 12, (Agencies): A chase in Saudi Arabia ended in a gunfight on Friday with the death of six suspects wanted for killing their relative, a special forces officer, the interior ministry said. Sergeant Badr Hamid Sareekh al- Rashidi was murdered last month.

The Arab News reported that the suspects were believed to be members of the Islamic State Sunni extremist group, but the ministry statement did not specifically mention such a connection. It said the security forces stand against anybody who wants to pursue “the dictates and directives of errant and corrupt organisations.”

The suspects “had taken advantage of the family ties” between them and the victim, luring him to his death, the ministry said. They opened fire on officers who located them driving towards Hail city northwest of Riyadh on Friday, the ministry said. “Their vehicle skidded towards a desert area and a chase took place.

They were cordoned in a mountainous area in Hail, and police helicopters had them under surveillance,” it said.

They continued shooting despite calls to surrender, leading to an exchange of fi re, it added. “As result they were all killed,” but no security men were hurt. IS has claimed previous attacks on Saudi security forces as well as deadly bombings and shootings that targeted the Sunni kingdom’s Shiite minority, which the IS group considers to be heretics. The leader of IS has purportedly called Saudi rulers “apostate tyrants”.

Meanwhile, death sentences against four Saudi men convicted of terrorism have been confirmed by 13 judges, a Saudi newspaper reported, raising the possibility of a new round of executions two months after 47 people including a prominent Shi’ite cleric were put to death. International rights groups said the families of three young Shiite Muslim men feared their sons, arrested for involvement in anti-government protests while under the age of 18, were among those facing the death penalty.

One is a nephew of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, the cleric whose execution in January led to a rupture of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Officials from the Saudi justice ministry and the interior ministry were not immediately available to comment. Saudi newspaper Okaz said: “The four terrorists awaiting the implementation of the death sentences complement the fi rst group of 47.” It said a total of 13 judges had considered the cases in three levels of hearings, but did not identify the four men.

Rights group Reprieve, which campaigns against the death penalty, said: “While details of the four in line for execution remain unclear, the reports will raise fears for three juveniles who are awaiting execution after their sentences … were upheld in the SCC (Specialised Criminal Court) last year.” The three are Dawoud al-Marhoon, arrested in 2012; Abdullah Hassan al-Zaher, who was 15 when he was arrested in 2011; and Ali al- Nimr, aged 17 when he was detained in 2012. France has called on Saudi Arabia not to execute Nimr, arguing he was a minor at the time.

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