Saudi militant was ex-policeman

[emad]

Brian Whitaker
Thursday December 9, 2004
The Guardian

The leader of a militant gang that stormed the US consulate in Jeddah was a former member of Saudi Arabia's religious police who had been jailed for "extremist ideas", local newspapers said yesterday.

Fayez al-Jihani, 28, was one of four gunmen who died during a three-hour shoot-out in the consulate's grounds on Monday. A fifth attacker was wounded and arrested.

Saudi newspapers identified Jihani as the head of an al-Qaida cell in Jeddah. After leaving school he joined the religious police but was sacked five years ago for "misconduct".

The religious police - officially known as the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice - are especially feared in the kingdom. Although separate from the ordinary police, they are headed by the ultra-conservative interior minister, Prince Nayef.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/saudi/story/0,11599,1369716,00.html