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Riyadh: The murder and decapitation of a high-ranking Saudi security officer in April may have a link with the ongoing confrontation between Saudi security forces and Al Qaida militants, officials told the Jeddah-based Okaz newspaper in a report that was published yesterday.
Amid continuing efforts to crack down on militant groups, the Saudi security forces announced last week the arrest of 11 Saudi suspect militants who were described as inciting and financing the group's activities.
Colonel Nasser Al Othman, of the General Investigation Department, was found dead on his farm in Qasim region. At that time, analysts said that the murder of Colonel Nasser Al Othman is similar to the murder of Lt Col Mubarak Al Sawat, another Saudi officer who was killed by terrorists outside his home in Jeddah in June 2005.
Terrorist motive
"Investigations in the murder of the Investigation officer [Col Al Othman] are still under way and not yet finished, but initial indications and clues indicate that the motive was a terrorist one," the official pointed out but declined to give any details on attributing the crime to Al Qaida militants.
But officials close to the investigations circles told the paper that the way the crime was perpetrated reaffirmed the involvement of the 'deviant group,' a label often used by Saudi authorities to describe supporters or sympathisers of the Al Qaida network.
The official, however, pointed out that the results of the investigations would be announced to the public immediately. He didn't say when he expects investigations to be completed.
"Throughout the history of Saudi security there was no crime recorded against an unknown person. This is what was proved by incidents and facts even if investigations took a lot of time," the official indicated.
Some 30 suspects, arrested in connection with the murder of Col Al Othman are being questioned by the security bodies concerned in Qasim region, the source said.
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