Bin Laden is in US Custody, says report American shot in Saudi Arabia

Former CIA analyst comments on US/ Saudi relations

DUBAI -(May 2, 2003) U.S. Special Operations Forces have launched a major attack on Al Qaida strongholds in eastern Afghanistan over the last few days and newspapers said quoting Pakistani sources that several Al Qaida leaders have been captured.

The London-based Al Hayat daily reported on Thursday that the U.S. force might have also captured Bin Laden. The newspaper quoted Pakistani military sources as saying that Bin Laden could have been one of the Al Qaida leaders seized by the United States. The United States has already confirmed the capture of Waleed Bin Attash, also known as Tawfiq Attash, Middle East Newsline reported. Bin Attash was said to have helped direct the Sept. 11, 2001 Al Qaida attacks on New York and Washington as well as the bombing of the USS Cole in October 2000.

Meanwhile, Al Qaeeda continues to target western civilians living in the Gulf. A gunman wounded a U.S. civilian working at a naval base in Saudi Arabia yesterday, a U.S. diplomat said.."The American was shot three times in the abdomen and appears to be okay after medical treatment. They expect a full recovery," the diplomat said. "It was a U.S. civilian employed by a contractor at Jubail. It seems he was shot by someone in a Saudi naval uniform," the diplomat said.A Saudi defence ministry official told the Saudi Press Agency security forces were looking for the gunman who fled after the attack at the King Abdulaziz Naval Base, which is near the Gulf port of Jubail in eastern Saudi Arabia. . The motive for the shooting was unclear. However, there is growing anti American feeling in the Arab world after the Iraq war and continued occupation of Iraq and killing of Iraqis

The victim was an American civilian working for a contractor here. The diplomat said Papes was shot four times and had been taken to a local hospital where he was in the intensive care unit and expected to recover. The diplomat could not confirm the man's name as his next of kin had not yet been notified.

King Abdulaziz Naval Base is an American base which is used to train Saudi Navy personnel. It was established more than a decade ago and is adjacent to the King Fahd Port and Jubail Industrial City. It is a non-residential area and there is no significant security presence there.

Saudi Interior Minister Prince Naif said earlier that the government has no knowledge about the contents of a security message issued by the US Embassy in Riyadh on Wednesday warning that terrorist groups may be in the final phases of planning attacks against the American community in Saudi Arabia."There is nothing that currently suggests that something like this is imminent, but given the circumstances and developments taking place something might," Prince Naif said. "I know nothing of this matter. This is a matter relating to the country concerned and we have not received any information from anyone regarding this matter," Prince Naif told reporters. The US Embassy advised the American community in Saudi Arabia that it has received information that terrorist groups may be in the final phases of planning attacks on American interests in Saudi Arabia. The embassy admitted that it had "no information as to the likely target" and added that US citizens in the Kingdom should "take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness." There are currently between 30,000 and 40,000 Americans living and working in the Kingdom, down from 60,000 a decade ago.

The US Embassy in Riyadh has been warning Americans that terrorist groups might be in the final phases of planning attacks against the community in the Kingdom. Two months earlier the United States urged all its nationals here to leave and reduced its diplomatic presence in the kingdom due to the US-led war in Iraq, which was widely criticized here. The United States this week withdrew most of its troops from Prince Sultan Air Base to Qatar.