Saudi Arabia: Senior al-Qaida leader surrenders

[March 26, 2009]  RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- Saudi Arabia says a senior al-Qaida leader has returned to the country voluntarily and turned himself in.

The Interior Ministry says Fahad al-Ruwaily was on a list of the kingdom's 85 most wanted militants living abroad. Ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki said he returned to Saudi Arabia Wednesday, but he refused to give more information.

A news Web site close to the ministry said Thursday that al-Ruwaily was a key figure in al-Qaida training camps along Syria's border with Iraq. The Doaa Web site said he provided fighters with weapons and forged travel documents to help them enter Iraq from Syria.

The Saudis appealed in February for 85 suspects to surrender, offering to reunite them with their families after rehabilitation.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.