Al Qaeda terror riles Saudi public

Still, the deaths of Miqrin, the most wanted man in Saudi Arabia, and Fahd al-Dakheel, also on a list of 26 suspects wanted by the authorities, are a blow to Al Qaeda. The four men killed Friday had participated in five different operations, including Johnson's slaying, the massacres in Yanbu and Khobar last month, and a car-bomb attack at a Saudi police building in Riyadh in April, the Saudi Press Agency says.

"This is the third-generation of Al Qaeda fighters, and a lot of their leadership has been killed," says analyst Adel al-Toraifi, who follows the group closely. "There are fewer people to lead attacks."

But Miqrin had been encouraging independent operations and praised the attack in Yanbu, in which six people were killed, as a good example to follow. Al Qaeda has been posting information on how to carry out assassinations and encouraging would-be followers to take the initiative in carrying out attacks.

"The following period could be more dangerous if disgruntled or disillusioned young men decide to carry out attacks on their own," says Toraifi.

Miqrin is the third Al Qaeda leader to be killed here since May, 2003, and will quickly be replaced, says Saud al-Sarhan, who follows Al Qaeda.

The group's strength lies not only in its leadership but in its ability to draw new recruits. Two of the men killed Friday, including a teenager, were not on the list of wanted suspects. Over the past year, many of the dozens of suspected terrorists arrested or killed in shootouts were also not on the list posted by the Interior Ministry.

Analysts cite several reasons for Al Qaeda's appeal. There is high unemployment, an uneven distribution of wealth, and a lack of alternative sources for peaceful dissent, says Fahd al-Shafi, a former extremist who knew Miqrin in the 1990s.

"If the situation remains as it is, what's to stop young people from resorting to violence?" says Mr. Shafi, who spent time in jail for opposition activities and is now a civil servant.

"Some people join these groups, not because they like them, but out of frustration with the current situation," he adds. "We need more social, political, and religious freedoms."

Public rallies and demonstrations are banned in Saudi Arabia. Only the official conservative version of Islam is publicly allowed, and writers who are critical of the status quo are often stopped from writing.

Al Qaeda has also made effective use of the Internet. In statements following the kidnapping of Johnson, who worked on Apache helicopters for Lockheed Martin, his kidnappers portrayed themselves as "defenders of weak Muslims."

"Many people feel guilty that they're not doing anything about US support for Israel, or the war on Iraq. Al Qaeda is seen as the only entity fighting the US, which many people consider an enemy," says columnist Abdallah Hameeduddin.

Youssef al-Dayni, who was himself an extremist as a teenager, says the only way to fight the group is through its ideology.

"These are not mercenaries. They are young men who believe jihad is a duty and their passions have been aroused by images of Muslims killed in Palestine, Afghanistan, and Iraq," he says. "We need to teach them an alternate Islamic discourse that explains that jihad is not a duty on all Muslims till their death. We need to preach to them an Islam of forgiveness," he says.

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