LEFT: Bodies are covered at the carnage site in Al-Ahsa. RIGHT: Arrested terror suspects await interrogation.

The Interior Ministry has released the names of four Saudi men responsible for opening fire and killing nine people in Al-Ahsa earlier this month, and revealed they have links to the Islamic State terrorist group.

The attack also resulted in the injury of 13 others in Dalwah. “Four men, including the leader of their cell, who is linked to IS, conducted the terror attack,” said Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, spokesman of the ministry, in a statement on Monday.

They are Abdullah Al-Sarhan, Khaled Al-Anzi and Marwan Al-Thafar, who have previous criminal records, and Tariq Al-Maimani who does not have a criminal record.

Al-Turki said the men’s orders from Islamic State came from outside the country, which included the time, date, location and targets of the attack in Al-Ahsa. They had also scouted the area before their operation, including murdering a citizen for his car.

“On the basis of the clues received, the security forces carried out several simultaneous operations in different parts of the country and arrested all the members of the terror organization. This includes those who pledged their loyalty to the commander of the terror organization, participants, supporters, financiers and their protectors. The police faced some resistance during the arrests,” Al-Turki said.

He said three of the terrorists were killed during police raids nationwide. Two of them are Saudi, Abdullah Al-Anazi and Sami Al-Motairi, while the third man killed was a Qatari citizen Salem Al-Morri. A fourth man, a Saudi citizen, was injured during the raids.

Saudi security forces arrested 77 suspects and seized several weapons used in the attack. Al-Turki said 33 of them are former convicts and 15 were out on bail.

All of the arrested suspects are Saudi, except for a Syrian, Jordanian and a Turkish national.

During their operation, the Saudi security forces seized several documents and electronic devices used by the suspects to keep in touch with IS operatives abroad. Investigations are continuing.

 
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