13 March - Saudi security forces in Jeddah conduct an early-morning raid that kills one (Saed al-Youbi) labeled as a terrorist. One civilian was also killed; five policemen were wounded. Three other suspects were arrested. One was thought to be Ibrahim al-Youbi.
3 April - through 5 April Saudi security forces launch the major
Ar Rass raids against a three-house compound, 320 kilometers south of the capital. Fifteen terrorists, including
Saleh Al-Aufi, reportedly the
Al-Qaeda leader for Saudi Arabia were killed along with
Talib Saud Al-Talib, also on the list of the 26 most-wanted piersons. The gunfight lasted for most of two days and included the use of
rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns and other heavy weapons. Students at a nearby girls' school were in danger from the fire and were evacuated by police who broke down the rear wall to their building.
7 April - Using information from the previous raid, security services killed
Abdul Rahman Al-Yaziji, number four on the most-wanted list in a firefight in the Southern Industrial District of Riyadh. The newspapers report that only three men on the list of the 26 most-wanted are still at liberty. They are
Saleh Al-Aufi,
Talib Al-Talib and
Abdullah.
22 April - A group of four insurgents dressed as women attempt to bluff their way past a security checkpoint near the holy city of
Makkah. Women are forbidden to drive in Saudi Arabia. The police gave chase as the group fled in their car. They were surrounded in a hilly area near
Umm Al-Joud southeast of the city. Two militants and two security officers were killed in the resulting shootout, an unknown number were wounded. The battle took place as the
Western Region of Saudi Arabia was conducting its first-ever elections for local government councils.
9 May -
Abdul Aziz ibn Rasheed Al-Inazi is arrested after a shoot-out in Riyadh. His is described in the press as a leader of the Religious Committee of the insurgency.
18 May - The United States Embassy issues a message that revokes the travel advisory for Saudi Arabia that had been in effect for a year.
16 June - Security services announce the arrest in Riyadh of five Chadians who were described as 'members of a deviant group.' The detainees, whose names were not given confessed to the murder of Laurent Barbot in September 2004 as well as a number of armed robberies.
19 June - Lt Colonel
Mubarak Al-Sawat, a senior police commander in
Makkah, was killed outside his home as he got in his car on his way to work. Newspapers report the killing may have been a botched
kidnapping attempt.
21 June - The killers of Lt Colonel
Mubarak Al-Sawat are killed by security forces after a long fire-fight on the Old Makkah Road in the Holy City.
Mansour Al-Thubaity and
Kamal Foudah, both Saudi nationals, were fired on while fleeing police in a car, took another car and finally were killed while hiding in a building in a residential area. Three policemen were injured, one of them seriously.
24 June - An internet site linked to
Al-Qaeda in Iraq reports that Abdullah, one of the few persons on the list of 26 Saudis most wanted has been killed by a US bomb. If true, this would leave only two persons (
Saleh Al-Aufi, the alleged leader of Al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia, and
Taleb Al-Taleb) on that list unaccounted for.
29 June - The security services issues two new lists of wanted persons. List A includes 15 names of persons suspected of terrorist affiliations and who are thought to be in the Kingdom. List B is of 21 names of persons suspected of terrorist affiliation, who are thought to be outside the Kingdom.
List A :(1)
Younus Mohamed Al-Hiyari, 36, Moroccan. Killed 3 July 2005. :(2)
Fahd Farraj Al-Juwair, 35, Saudi. :(3)
Zaid Saad Al-Samary, 31, Saudi. :(4)
Abdul Rahman Saleh Al-Miteb, 26, Saudi. (See entry for 28 December 2005) :(5)
Saleh Mansour Al-Harbi, 22, Saudi. :(6)
Sultan Saleh Al-Hasry, 26, Saudi. :(7)
Mohamed Abdul Rahman Al-Suwailemi, 23, Saudi. :(8)
Mohamed Saleh Al-Ghaith, 23, Saudi. :(9)
Abdullah Abdul Aziz Al-Tuwaijeri, 21, Saudi. :(10)
Mohamed Saeed Al-Amry, 25, Saudi. Captured 25 July 2005 :(11)
Ibrahim Abdullah Al-Motair, 21, Saudi. :(12)
Walid Mutlaq Al-Radadi, 21, Saudi. :(13)
Naif Farhan Al-Shammary, 24, Saudi. :(14)
Majed Hamid Al-Hasry, 29, Saudi. :(15)
Abdullah Muhaya Al-Shammary, 24, Saudi
List B :(1)
Noor Mohamed Moussa, 21, Chadian. :(2)
Manour Mohamed Yousef, 24, Chadian. :(3)
Othman Mohamed Kourani, 23, Chadian. :(4)
Mohsen Ayed Al-Fadhli, 25,
Kuwaiti. :(5)
Abdullah Walad Mohamed Sayyed, 37,
Mauritanian. :(6)
Zaid Hassan Humaid, 34, Yemeni. :(7)
Fahd Saleh Al-Mahyani, 24, Saudi. :(8)
Adnan Abdullah Al-Sharief, 28, Saudi. :(9)
Marzouq Faisal Al-Otaibi, 32, Saudi. :(10)
Adel Abdullateef Al-Sanie, 27, Saudi. :(11)
Mohamed Abdul Rahman Al-Dhait, 21, Saudi. :(12)
Sultan Sunaitan Al-Dhait, 24, Saudi. :(13)
Saleh Saeed Al-Ghamdi, 40, Saudi. :(14)
Faiz Ibrahim Ayub, 30, Saudi. (See entry for 1 July 2005) :(15)
Khaled Mohamed Al-Harbi, 29, Saudi. :(16)
Mohamed Othman Al-Zahrani, 44, Saudi. :(17)
Abdullah Mohamed Al-Rumayan, 27, Saudi. :(18)
Mohamed Saleh Al-Rashoudi, 24, Saudi. :(19)
Saad Mohamed Al-Shahry, 31, Saudi. :(20)
Ali Matir Al-Osaimy, 23, Saudi. :(21)
Faris Abdullah Al-Dhahiry, 22, Saudi. (See entry for 1 July 2005)
1 July - Newspapers report that
Faiz Ibrahim Ayub (name 14 on list B) turned himself to a Saudi embassy, perhaps in
Beirut. The government denies this. The family of
Faris Abdullah Al-Dhahiry (Name 22 on list B) claim he had been killed in
Iraq in November 2004.
3 July -
Younus Mohamed Al-Hiyari (The first name on List A) is killed in a shoot-out with police in eastern Riyadh. Six police officers were injured in the clash which included the use of homemade bombs by the militants. Three men were arrested, but their names were not immediately released.
19 July - Saudi Security forces capture a weapons cache in
Al-Kharj south of Riyadh. The store included 1,900 kg of
fertilizer, 125 kg of
ammonium nitrate,
aluminum powder,
potassium nitrate and other chemicals used by suspected Al-Qaeda militants to make bombs.
20 July - The US Embassy warns US citizens in Saudi Arabia to lower their profile and be on alert due to intelligence indicating preparations were being made for a terrorist attack.
25 July -
Mohamed Saeed Al-Amry (number ten on List A) is captured in
Madinah along with two unnamed others. He was carrying an explosive device when he was captured. The US Embassy restricts the travel of
US military personnel in the Kingdom to home and office only in light of intelligence indicating planning for a militant strike.
8 August - United States, United Kingdom, Australian and
New Zealand embassies and consulates close for two days in response to intelligence.
Reuters reports the
British government believe a militant attack to be in the final stages of preparation. Saudi security forces increase activity across the kingdom with additional checkpoints presence. Military facilities increase security also. No militant activity or arrests are reported in the press.
18 August - Saudi Security Forces conducted six raids around the kingdom killing four and capturing an unknown number of fighters. During one of these actions,
Saleh al-Oufi is reportedly killed in Madinah. He was the fourth name on the original list of 26 most-wanted persons and has been described as the Al Qaeda chief in the kingdom. He had narrowly escaped capture last year. His death leaves on one person on that list unaccounted for. Newspapers also reported that
Farraj Al-Juwait was killed by police near exit five on the Ring Road in Riyadh. Reports mistakenly indicate that this name was on one of the recent lists of most-wanted militants.
3 December - Seventeen unnamed "terror suspect"s are arrested in a series of raids in Riyadh, Al-Kharj and Majmaa. The security services also claimed to have captured an undisclosed amount of explosives and weaponry.
28 December - In separate incidents, Saudi security forces killed two wanted militants in
Qassim.
Abdul Rahman Saleh Al-Miteb, (#4 on List A) was killed in
Um Khashba after a routine traffic stop led to his killing two highway patrolmen. This set off a running gunfight that killed three more police officers. He was killed by gunfire, his body was holding an automatic weapon and a hand grenade.
Abdul Rahman Al-Suwailemi died in custody from his wounds after being captured elsewhere in the region. He was described as a computer expert who managed insurgent websites. ==2006==