KINGDOM DENIES SAUDI INVOLVEMENT IN
ALLEGED AL-QAEDA ATTACKS IN IRAQ

SAUDI MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

August 12, 2003

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Arabia has denied a report published in the August 10 edition of the 'Sunday Times' in London, U.K., alleging that Al-Qaeda is carrying out attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq and that funds, weapons and Arab fighters are being smuggled to that organization across the Kingdom's borders. The Ministry declared that the Kingdom, which maintains strict control over its borders, has no evidence of any such operation, and has, moreover, enforced tight measures to screen the movement of funds. Saudi Arabia therefore expresses profound bewilderment at the practice by certain international media of involving the Kingdom in everything related to Al-Qaeda, even though Saudi Arabia was the first to launch a war against this deviant group and works intensively against it.

The Kingdom emphasizes that, having itself suffered from terrorist acts, it is against all forms of terrorism, stands very decisively and strongly against Al-Qaeda, and has mobilized all possible efforts in order to track it down, tighten the noose around its neck, and uproot it.