Al-Asiri was recruited into
al-Qaeda by his older brother
Ibrahim al-Asiri, and the two brothers visited Yemen in 2007. In August 2009 he spoke to Muhammad bin Nayef and expressed a desire to surrender to the authorities as part of the country's terrorist rehabilitation program, and they agreed to meet. A few days later, on 27 August 2009 Asiri queued up at Muhammad bin Nayef's
Jeddah palace as a "well-wisher," a tradition in the kingdom during
Ramadan. Assisted by his older brother, Ibrahim al-Asiri, he had hidden a pound (about 0.45kg) of
PETN plastic explosives in his rectum and anal canal, described by security experts as a novel technique. He exploded the bomb (perhaps with a mobile phone), killing himself, but only lightly injuring bin Nayef who was protected from the full force of the blast by Asiri's body. "I did not want him to be searched, but he surprised me by blowing himself up," said Muhammad bin Nayef. This was the first assassination attempt against a royal family member since 2003, when Saudi Arabia faced a sharp increase in al-Qaeda linked attacks. A
Yemeni,
Rayed Abdullah Salem Al Harbi, assisted Asiri in preparing for his suicide mission. ==See also==