Suspect in Suicide Attacks Captured, Saudi Police Say

Police captured a suspect linked to the May 12 suicide bombings in the Saudi capital, days after he allegedly shot a police officer while eluding arrest, a security official said Wednesday.

The arrest of Zafer Abdul Rahman Shihri came amid a nationwide sweep that has captured at least 125 people since the attacks, for which Al Qaeda has been blamed. Police in bulletproof vests also now man checkpoints in major cities, checking IDs, searching cars and keeping watch from behind machine guns.

Shihri was arrested Tuesday night in an abandoned house in the southern province of Namas, said an Interior Ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Shihri had eluded police and wounded an officer when they tried to arrest him Saturday, the official said.

On Sunday, a state helicopter crashed while chasing Shihri. Ten soldiers on board were injured.

Shihri was found with 50 automatic rifles, ammunition, a personal computer and fake identification, the official Saudi Press Agency reported Wednesday.

He is wanted for allegedly helping the 19 men suspected of carrying out the attacks, which killed 25 people. Nine attackers also were killed.

Since the attacks, Saudi authorities have launched an extensive hunt for Islamic militants and their sympathizers. Last month, they raided an apartment in Mecca where they found members of an alleged terrorist cell accused of planning attacks in the city, Islam’s holiest.

Experts said the sweep had wide public support after the outrage caused by the May attacks and the alleged Mecca plot.

Newspapers reported that about 200 members from Shihri’s tribe had helped authorities comb the mountains of Namas province in searching for him since Saturday.

Shihri’s father has been quoted as calling on his son to surrender.

“This shows that people are fed up with the violence and support the government crackdown on militants, even when it involves their own sons,” said Saudi analyst Mishari Zaidi, who writes about militants for the London-based Al Sharq al Awsat.