Also known as the Persian Gulf. “Al Qaeda plans ‘major operations’ in the Gulf,” from AFP:
DUBAI – The Saudi branch of Al Qaeda announced on Thursday that it is planning major operations aimed at driving Western interests out of the Arabian Gulf, according to an online statement.
“We have for some time been in the process of preparing major operations that will weaken the crusaders” bases in the Arabian Gulf,” said the Al Qaeda Organisation in the Gulf.
“We will cleanse the Arabian Gulf of the presence of crusaders and of their bases, which are scattered around the cradle of Islam. We promise our leader, Osama bin Laden, to continue on the same road. Your soldiers are preparing something in which you will
rejoice.”
The statement was carried in the movement’s online magazine, Sawt al-Jihad (the Voice of Jihad).
Al Qaeda has been responsible for a wave of violence that has shaken the oil-rich Saudi kingdom since May 2003.