Riyadh: A former Guantanamo detainee who became an Al Qaida commander has turned himself in to the Saudi authorities, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television said on Tuesday.
Mohammad Al Awfi, who had been released from a Saudi centre for those returning from the US military prison camp in Guantanamo, appeared on an Al Qaida video last month to say he had joined Al Qaida's regional wing in Yemen as a commander.
The television station said Al Awfi, on a wanted list of 85 Al Qaida-inspired Islamist militants overseas issued by Saudi Arabia this month, had contacted the Saudi authorities three days ago before surrendering in Yemen. Neighbouring Yemen has said it arrested dozens of suspects in a manhunt for Al Qaida-linked militants in recent weeks.
The announcement of the Saudi wanted list followed a move last month by Al Qaida's wing in neighbouring Yemen to name Al Awfi and a fellow Saudi released from Guantanamo as commanders. In last month's video, the group's Yemeni leader Abu Basir Nasser Al Wahayshi, threatened attacks against Westerners in the region.
