But what happens to them after they’re turned over to the Saudis? Are they released with encouragement to try again? From AKI, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:
Riyadh, 30 May (AKI) – Syria has handed more than 30 Saudis caught trying to cross the border into Iraq back to Saudi Arabia, according to the Saudi interior minister Prince Naif. The Saudi newspaper Arab News reports that in the last few weeks Syria has arrested more than 300 Saudis it suspected of travelling to Iraq to join the insurgency there. Syria is under immense pressure to tighten up security along its “porous border” with Iraq.
Saudi Arabia says it has no idea how many Saudis are in Iraq, but analysts believe hundreds, even thousands may have gone there since the US-led invasion two years ago, which brought down Saddam Hussein’s regime.
Earlier this month one influential Saudi cleric, Safar al-Hawali, said that while he supports the jihad against the US in Iraq, no-one outside Iraq has the right to participate in the fight. He also urged families to immediately contact the authorities if a male relative goes missing, so he can be stopped before he leaves the country.