'Spying Cell' in Saudi Arabia Sought Foreign Financing

Dr. Ibrahim al-Nahas
Dr. Ibrahim al-Nahas
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'Spying Cell' in Saudi Arabia Sought Foreign Financing

Dr. Ibrahim al-Nahas
Dr. Ibrahim al-Nahas

Members of a “spying cell,” arrested by Saudi Arabia’s state security presidency two days ago, sought to “incite strife by communicating with foreign entities hostile to Saudi Arabia and to establish a false legal organization, according to information received by Asharq Al-Awsat from informed sources.

The sources said most suspects of this cell claim to have religious obligations and were using human rights as a pretext to violate the country’s systems. One of the arrested suspects had volunteered to defend people who tried to produce chaos and incite strife inside the Kingdom, according to the sources.

Another member of the cell had contacted a foreign entity “hostile to Saudi Arabia, to receive financial support in exchange of continuing to incite trouble.”

Dr. Ibrahim al-Nahas, member of Shura Council Committee on Foreign Affairs, told Asharq Al-Awsat on Saturday that the Kingdom is capable to overpass many security challenges thanks to the vigilance of its security apparatus.

For his part, Dr. Yusuf Al-Rumaih, professor of criminology at Al- Qassim University told Asharq Al-Awsat that “Saudi Arabia is a state built on the basis of justice and it enshrines the principal of equality of all persons before the law.”

Earlier, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted the security spokesman of the Presidency of State Security as saying that 7 people have been arrested for suspicious communication with foreign entities and actions against the state.



It said authorities detected coordinated activities by a group of people, who carried out an organized work to violate the religious and national principles of the state.

“They also had communications with foreign entities to support their activities and also sought to recruit persons working in sensitive government posts as well as providing financial support to hostile elements abroad with the objective of undermining the Kingdom’s security and stability, its social peace and national cohesion,” the spokesperson added.



Riyadh, Washington Discuss Maritime Cooperation and Boosting Security of Navigation

Chief of Staff of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces Lieutenant General Mohammed Al-Gharibi and commander of US Naval Forces Central Command/US 5th Fleet Vice Admiral Curt Renshaw. (Saudi Ministry of Defense)
Chief of Staff of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces Lieutenant General Mohammed Al-Gharibi and commander of US Naval Forces Central Command/US 5th Fleet Vice Admiral Curt Renshaw. (Saudi Ministry of Defense)
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Riyadh, Washington Discuss Maritime Cooperation and Boosting Security of Navigation

Chief of Staff of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces Lieutenant General Mohammed Al-Gharibi and commander of US Naval Forces Central Command/US 5th Fleet Vice Admiral Curt Renshaw. (Saudi Ministry of Defense)
Chief of Staff of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces Lieutenant General Mohammed Al-Gharibi and commander of US Naval Forces Central Command/US 5th Fleet Vice Admiral Curt Renshaw. (Saudi Ministry of Defense)

Riyadh and Washington discussed ways to boost maritime security and freedom of navigation in the region, according to a statement by the Saudi Ministry of Defense on the X platform on Wednesday.

This came during a meeting between Chief of Staff of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces Lieutenant General Mohammed Al-Gharibi and commander of US Naval Forces Central Command/US 5th Fleet Vice Admiral Curt Renshaw.

The ministry said in its post that the two sides discussed maritime cooperation between Saudi Arabia and the United States in a manner that serves the common interests of both countries.


Coalition: Ballistic Missile Launch Platform Used in Attack on Riyadh Was Destroyed

Official Spokesperson of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen Major General Turki Al-Malki. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Official Spokesperson of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen Major General Turki Al-Malki. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Coalition: Ballistic Missile Launch Platform Used in Attack on Riyadh Was Destroyed

Official Spokesperson of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen Major General Turki Al-Malki. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Official Spokesperson of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen Major General Turki Al-Malki. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Official Spokesperson of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen Major General Turki Al-Malki announced that a ballistic missile launch platform, which was used in an attack on Riyadh, has been destroyed.

The platform was located in Yemen’s Sanaa and was being prepared for an imminent attack against Saudi Arabia, he added.

Earlier, Al-Malki said a ballistic missile launched by the terrorist Houthi militia was intercepted and destroyed north of Riyadh.

He confirmed that the Coalition is tracking the launch platform over Sanaa using its intelligence systems and will destroy it.

Another ballistic missile launched by the Houthis toward Khamis Mushait was intercepted and destroyed.

Al-Malki explained that Houthi-held Sanaa and the governorates of Saada and Amran are the sources of Houthi missile threats, stressing that the coalition continues to neutralize ballistic and surface-to-surface missile threats and destroy their sources.


Saudi Arabia: 3 Killed, 36 Injured in Attacks on Abha, Riyadh Airports

The Abha International Airport. (SPA file)
The Abha International Airport. (SPA file)
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Saudi Arabia: 3 Killed, 36 Injured in Attacks on Abha, Riyadh Airports

The Abha International Airport. (SPA file)
The Abha International Airport. (SPA file)

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) announced that three people were killed and 36 injured in two separate attacks on its Abha International Airport and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Tuesday and Wednesday.

At the Abha airport, the blatant attack resulted in two fatalities, Moroccan and Algerian female residents, as well as 28 injuries ranging from minor to serious among Saudi citizens, a Bangladeshi resident, and a Filipino resident.

At King Khalid International Airport, the attack resulted in one fatality, a resident of Sudanese nationality, as well as eight injuries ranging from minor to critical among five Saudi citizens, two Egyptian residents, and a Pakistani resident.

All injured individuals were transported to hospital for appropriate medical care. The two attacks also caused some property damage.

GACA is working in coordination with the relevant authorities to assess the damage, verify the safety of the facilities, and take the necessary measures to ensure the safety of passengers and maintain the security and safety of operations within the Kingdom's civil aviation system.