not easing up on terrorist---
Police kill top Saudi al-Qaida leader
Friday 19 August 2005, 2:43 Makka Time, 23:43 GMT
Saleh Muhammad al-Aoofi was the kingdom's most wanted man
Saudi security forces have killed al-Qaida's top leader in the country as well as five other suspected Islamic insurgents in gun battles.
Thursday's confrontation took place in the capital and Medina, where Prophet Muhammad is buried, in the first major anti-terrorist sweep since King Abdullah took the throne this month, the authorities said.
Saleh Muhammad al-Aoofi, the kingdom's most wanted man, had been leading al-Qaida's branch in Saudi Arabia for more than two years and was believed to have been involved in the June 2004 kidnapping and beheading of American engineer Paul Johnson.
Weeks after Johnson's slaying, Saudi police found his head in a freezer in an apartment where al-Aoofi had been hiding.
Al-Aoofi's death was the latest victory claimed by Saudi authorities in their crackdown on Islamic insurgents in the kingdom, launched after a wave of deadly attacks that began in May 2003.
Saudi police have killed or captured many of the figures on the kingdom's list of most wanted insurgents, and Abdullah vowed to push ahead with the crackdown when he was elevated to king in early August after the death of his half-brother Fahd.
Police kill top Saudi al-Qaida leader
Friday 19 August 2005, 2:43 Makka Time, 23:43 GMT
Saleh Muhammad al-Aoofi was the kingdom's most wanted man
Saudi security forces have killed al-Qaida's top leader in the country as well as five other suspected Islamic insurgents in gun battles.
Thursday's confrontation took place in the capital and Medina, where Prophet Muhammad is buried, in the first major anti-terrorist sweep since King Abdullah took the throne this month, the authorities said.
Saleh Muhammad al-Aoofi, the kingdom's most wanted man, had been leading al-Qaida's branch in Saudi Arabia for more than two years and was believed to have been involved in the June 2004 kidnapping and beheading of American engineer Paul Johnson.
Weeks after Johnson's slaying, Saudi police found his head in a freezer in an apartment where al-Aoofi had been hiding.
Al-Aoofi's death was the latest victory claimed by Saudi authorities in their crackdown on Islamic insurgents in the kingdom, launched after a wave of deadly attacks that began in May 2003.
Saudi police have killed or captured many of the figures on the kingdom's list of most wanted insurgents, and Abdullah vowed to push ahead with the crackdown when he was elevated to king in early August after the death of his half-brother Fahd.
