RIYADH – Al-Qaeda leadership has asked its followers in the Kingdom to leave the country for Yemen in the face of stiff combat and preemptive operations being conducted by Saudi security forces, said Dr. Abdul Aziz Bin Saqr Al-Ghamdi, President of the Gulf Center for Strategic Studies.
Disclosing the content of a letter distributed by the so-called Al-Qaeda Organization in the Southern Arabian Peninsula to its followers in the Kingdom, Al-Ghamdi said in a telephone interview that the terror network was planning to expand its operations in Yemen by targeting tourists.
He said the letter proves that Al-Qaeda followers were on the run in the Kingdom from the Saudi security forces.
Since May 2003, more than 9,000 suspected militants were arrested and 3,106 remain in detention.
The Kingdom has foiled at least two major plots since 2006 to hit major oil facilities.
