Gulf | Saudi Arabia

Would-be suicide bombers recall suffering in Iraq

Saudi victims convinced of deviant ideologies followed by militants.

  • By Mariam Al Hakeem, Correspondent
  • Published: 23:39 September 10, 2008
  • Gulf News

Riyadh: Saudi youngsters who recently returned from Iraq said the traumatic experience they suffered during their stay in that country left them in no doubt about the deviant ideology of the militant groups and their knowledge of Islamic teachings.

Speaking to a Saudi TV channel, they confessed to facing serious psychological pressures to carry out suicide bombings.

The first thing he did when he entered Iraq was to declare his allegiance to a man called Abu Omer Al Baghdadi, a person said.

He said the leaders of the armed groups told them they were no longer in need of fighters and that the only thing for them was to join one of the suicide bombers "I was forced to accept because I entered Iraq without my passport which was taken from me in Syria," he said. "On the day fixed for carrying out the suicide bombing, I was handed over to a person who handed me over to the US forces," he added.

Mistake

Abu Mohammad admitted that most suicide bombers in Iraq were Saudis. Abu Saleh said many who went to fight in Iraq were not aware of the mistakes they making.

The head of the Islamic Culture section at King Saud University, Dr Sulaiman Al Eid, said he could not find any excuse for those who go to Iraq to kill themselves in suicide bombings.

He added that those who killed themselves in such a way would definitely not go to heaven.

The assistant lecturer at the College of Medicine Dr Ali Al Zahrani, called on parents to enlighten their children at an early age so that they do not fall prey to such deviant ideologies.

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