SMS tips led to Khobar bomber arrest

Manama: Ahmad Al Mughassil, the leader of Hezbollah Al Hejaz and the main suspect in the bombing of Khobar Towers in 1996, was arrested in Beirut after the Lebanese security received an anonymous tip, a Kuwaiti daily said.

Quoting diplomatic and security sources it did not name, the daily said the arrest occurred two to three weeks ago and that the operation was triggered by an SMS sent to the Lebanese security forces.

The message said that a high-value dangerous wanted man was about to land at Rafik Hariri airport in the Lebanese capital. The message said the suspect was travelling under an Iranian name and with an Iranian passport on board of an Iranian plane, Al Rai reported on Thursday.

The security agency officers were intrigued, particularly that the airport was under the influence of Hezbollah, a party that was a strong ally of Iran.

However, the operation went smoothly and Al Mughassil was arrested as officers stood around the plane carrying an Iranian delegation from Tehran, Al Rai said.

The security agency was not aware of the true identity of the suspect they had arrested until a second SMS revealed it.

The sources told the daily that DNA samples of Al Mughassil were compared with those of his family back in Saudi Arabia and that the results confirmed his identity. He was then quizzed while legal and security arrangements were taken to ease his extradition to Saudi Arabia where he was wanted for masterminding the blast that killed 19 US service personnel and wounded almost 500 people.

According to the sources, 48-year-old Al Mughassil was traveling to Lebanon to attend the wedding of his son in Beirut where the family was residing.

His extradition was as smooth as his arrest, prompting speculation there was an agreement to ensure the operations were not disrupted or stalled in any way, the daily said.

Saudi-owned Al Sharq Al Awsat newspaper, which first reported the story, said that Al Mughassil was arrested after Saudi authorities identified his whereabouts in Lebanon.

A Saudi official said that Al Mughassil was detained two weeks ago after arriving in Beirut from Iran. He allegedly tried to seek cover in a southern Beirut neighborhood that is a stronghold of Lebanon’s Hezbollah. The security official said Saudi intelligence believes that four others wanted in the bombing are living in Iran.

The Saudi and US officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to publicly discuss the matter.

Saudi Arabia has never directly blamed Iran - its regional rival - for the attack, and Iran has repeatedly denied being involved.

US State Department spokesman John Kirby declined to comment on the capture but said: “The United States continues to stand with the victims and families harmed by this attack, and we’re going to continue working with Saudi Arabia and the international community to bring to justice all the perpetrators of it.”

The US Justice Department also declined to comment.

In the attack, militants parked a fuel tanker truck just outside the shallow perimeter of the apartment complex, 85 feet from one of the dormitories. The blast tore the face off one side of the building, leaving a massive crater.

The US later moved its Air Force contingent to a compound in a remote stretch of desert south of Riyadh before withdrawing its troops from the kingdom in 2003.

- with inputs from AP