Al-Nusra: Saudi Arabia next target of al-Qaeda?

The leader of Al-Nusra Front, Mohamed Abu al-Yulani, does not rule out that Saudi Arabia would become the next target of al-Qaeda in the region. In an interview with Qatari Al-Jazeera Channel, Al-Yulani said that if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will stay in power, "then the next target will be the Arabian Peninsula, known as Saudi Arabia."The leader of al-Nusra, a subsidiary of Al-Qaeda in Syria, said it will target the eastern part of Saudi Arabia, where we find most of the oil in the country. During his first interview with the media, he appeared back to camera; Al-Yulani also warned about the possible improvement of relations between Iran and the United States by the recent nuclear agreement reached in Switzerland, since, in his opinion, it reinforces the position of the Persian country in the region.Furthermore, he explained that his group rejects any results arising from the second edition of the peace conference on Syria known as Geneva II, which will take place on January 22, 2014 in the Swiss town of Montreux."Those attending the conference do not represent the people. Besides, who authorized them (the opposition) to represent the people," he asked.In future Al-Nusra could become the number one enemy of Saudi Arabia, despite the head of the intelligence services in the country, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, being the main sponsor of the terrorist cell, according to recent information released by French bulletin "Intelligence Online", specializing in Strategic Affairs.Irã News, Hispan TVTranslated from the Portuguese versionBy Olga Santos

Six mortar shells hit eastern border of Saudi Arabia

Source : http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-11/22/c_125743058.htm

Six mortar shells of unknown source hit an area on Saudi Arabia's eastern border with Iraq and Kuwait, causing no damage, Saudi Press Agency reported Thursday, quoting a military spokesman.Saudi authorities are contacting their two neighbors to inquire the source of the shells to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future, General Mohammed al-Ghamdi, the spokesman, said.Local residents were quoted by Al Arabia TV as saying some Saudi warplanes were seen flying over the area early on Thursday.Hafr al-Batin, a desert region near Iraq and Kuwait, hosted a U. S. army headquarters during Operation Desert Storm that prompted the pullout of Iraqi troops from Kuwait in 1991, the TV noted.Tension between Saudi Arabia and Iraq goes back to the first Gulf war in the early 1990s. There has been no Saudi ambassador sent to Iraq for years.

Syrian Envoy: Saudi Prince Real Leader of Al- Qaeda

Source : Farsnews

TEHRAN (FNA)- Syrian Ambassador to Jordan Bahjat Suleiman called Saudi Prince "the real gang leader of terrorists fighting in Syria".

Saudi Arabia’s intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan is the head of Al-Qaeda terrorist group and the founder of the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant in Syria, Suleiman said, according to an article in Arabic language Ray al-Youm website, Al-Alam reported.

Suleiman said, Osama Bin Laden was the founder of Al-Qaeda, Aymen Zahiri is their apparent leader, and Bandar bin Sultan is the real leader of Al-Qaeda.

He added that the Saudi Prince dwells in a residence near a militant-held area on Syria-Jordan border and leads the terrorists fighting in Syria from there.

The Syrian ambassador also noted that the Syria-Jordan borders have been kept under the control of the so-called Free Syrian Army that enjoys Saudi Arabia’s support.

Pointing out the Saudi regime's crack-down on its own citizens Suleiman added, "Saudi Arabia is not in a stance to give lessons of democracy and freedom to the Syrian nation."

Saudi officials have denied being directly involved in the crisis in Syria, but there are many reports on Saudi regime’s huge financial supports to the Syria militants.

The conflict in Syria started in March 2011, when pro-reform protests turned into a massive insurgency following the intervention of western and regional states.

The unrest, which took in terrorist groups from across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, has transpired as one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent hist

Syrian Envoy: Saudi Prince Real Leader of Al- Qaeda

Source : Farsnews

TEHRAN (FNA)- Syrian Ambassador to Jordan Bahjat Suleiman called Saudi Prince "the real gang leader of terrorists fighting in Syria".

Saudi Arabia’s intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan is the head of Al-Qaeda terrorist group and the founder of the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant in Syria, Suleiman said, according to an article in Arabic language Ray al-Youm website, Al-Alam reported.

Suleiman said, Osama Bin Laden was the founder of Al-Qaeda, Aymen Zahiri is their apparent leader, and Bandar bin Sultan is the real leader of Al-Qaeda.

He added that the Saudi Prince dwells in a residence near a militant-held area on Syria-Jordan border and leads the terrorists fighting in Syria from there.

The Syrian ambassador also noted that the Syria-Jordan borders have been kept under the control of the so-called Free Syrian Army that enjoys Saudi Arabia’s support.

Pointing out the Saudi regime's crack-down on its own citizens Suleiman added, "Saudi Arabia is not in a stance to give lessons of democracy and freedom to the Syrian nation."

Saudi officials have denied being directly involved in the crisis in Syria, but there are many reports on Saudi regime’s huge financial supports to the Syria militants.

The conflict in Syria started in March 2011, when pro-reform protests turned into a massive insurgency following the intervention of western and regional states.

The unrest, which took in terrorist groups from across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, has transpired as one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent hist

Israel Mulling Plot to Assassinate Assad

Source : Fars News Agency

Assad TEHRAN (FNA)- The Israeli regime's security bodies are working on a plot to assassinate Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by the help of terrorist groups and armed rebels in the country after Damascus showed strength and months of resistance against the terrorist attacks orchestrated by US, Israel and their Arab partners, the Israeli media reported on Tuesday.

The Israeli Vala news website reported that the Israeli security and spy agencies were shocked at Assad's resistance against two years of terrorist and sabotage operations against the country and are mulling other ways to topple him.

Meantime, the report underlined high security measures adopted by the Syrian forces in safeguarding the roads to Damascus where government buildings are located and Assad himself resides, and said the only way to assassinate the Syrian president is designing a complicated operation and coaxing the people close to Assad into betraying him.

Earlier, a documentary movie posted on a Lebanese website unveiled details of a plot by the French and Turkish intelligence services to assassinate President Bashar al-Assad and other senior officials of Syria.

The video posted by Lebanese Asianews website, which was produced in March by Khedar Awarake, a well-known Syrian media activist, included part of the confessions made by those involved in France- Turkey joint plot to kill Assad.

The report said that the Syrian security apparatus defused Turkey and France's attempted assassination plot on the lives of Assad and Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Mualem.

The report noted that the Turkish and French spy agencies embarked on the establishment of a joint operation room to direct a well-concerted operation to carry out the mission after they failed in their earlier plot to overthrow Assad's government, adding that their mission had overlaps with security services of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the US on many aspects.

The report further unveiled that the new mission to kill Assad started by Turkey and France's joint effort to recruit high-ranking officials in Syrian governmental offices, including the office of Mualem and offices related to the presidential palace in Damascus.

The report also said that Turks wished to bring along French in their operation since Paris has strong relations with Kurdish parties and could help recruit the Kurdish staffs in Assad's offices.

The report at the same time noted that Syrian security services were able to thwart the plot due to their intelligence supremacy and close watch on the plot.

In January, informed sources had said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has ordered his army commanders to target Israel and the US interests in the Middle East region in case he is assassinated by the terrorists.

President Assad's remarks came after he attended several meetings with his senior commanders, and discussed the country's security situation with them, the Algerian Al-Shorouq Oline newspaper quoted informed sources close to the Syrian government as saying at the time.

In the meetings presided by President Assad, Syria's top army commanders told him that "the foreign hostile states will strive to assassinate him instead of launching a military attack on Syria".

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country.

Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes.

The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad.

In October 2011, calm was eventually restored in the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies are seeking hard to bring the country into chaos through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots in the hope of increasing unrests in Syria.

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Flash flooding deaths rise to 20 in Saudi Arabia

Source : Trend.Az

Saudi authorities Thursday said that 20 people had died in flash floods that hit several areas of the desert kingdom this week, dpa reported.

Rescue teams were searching for five others who went missing in the heavy rain that began on Saturday.

The authorities said on Wednesday that 13 people were killed in the downpours, the heaviest experienced by the Arabian Peninsula country in 25 years.

Footage posted on local social networking websites showed people and vehicles trapped in the rain.

Interior Minister Prince Muhammad bin Nayef said King Abdullah was "closely monitoring the situation and the efforts of the ministries and agencies to provide safety requirements."

Around 123 people were killed in 2009, when torrential rain hit the Saudi port city of Jeddah.

Iranian president says West wants separate Iraq, Pakistan and Syria

Source : Trend.Az

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused western countries on attempting to separate Iraq, Pakistan and Syria, IRNA reported on April 28.

During the speech to people in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan Province, Ahmadinejad said that West has been conducting artificial wars among people in these countries to dominate them by separating the nations.

Ahmadinejad went on saying the West had made conflict among races before, but now is using religious differences as a tool to bring war in some countries.

Mentioning conflicts in Pakistan, Syria and Iraq, Ahmadienad said that these conflicts would occur in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and other Asian countries in future and the nations should be awaked and neutralize West's plots.

Iranian president said that Iran knows very well about the West's schemes aimed to divesting nations from sovereignty

Saudi Arabia to build 2,000-km wall

Source  : Vesti Kavkaza

Saudi Arabia has started construction of a 2,000- km concrete wall to secure its territory from Al Qaeda militants from Yemen, RBC reports.

The idea to build the wall was inspired by events of the Arab Spring when the situation worsened. Five borders guards of Saudi Arabia have died in the latest attack of smugglers.

Russia raps Arab League over Syria seat

Source  :  http://old.mehrnews.com/

TEHRAN, March 28 (MNA) – Russia has condemned a move by the Arab League to hand Syria’s seat to opposition forces, and called it "illegal and indefensible."

The Russian Foreign Ministry made the announcement in a statement published on Wednesday.

"In terms of international law, the league's decision on Syria is illegal and indefensible because the government of the Syrian Arab Republic was and is the legitimate representative member state at the United Nations," the statement read.

Russia also slammed the Arab League member states’ attempts to provide Syria’s foreign-backed militants with all means of support, including arms.

On Tuesday, Syrian opposition chief Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib took Syria's seat as Arab leaders gathered in Doha for their annual summit.

On March 6, the Arab League called on Syria's opposition National Coalition "to form an executive body to take up Syria's seat" at the summit.

In November 2011, the Arab League suspended Syria, which is a founding member of the organization.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011. Many people, including large numbers of Syrian army and security personnel, have been killed in the violence.

The Syrian government says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the militants are foreign nationals.

Damascus says the West and its regional allies including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey are supporting the militants.

NT/EA MNA END

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Saudi Arabia arrests 18 members in spying cell

Source :   Xinhua

RIYADH, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday the arrest of 18 people over the suspicion of spying for another country, Saudi Press Agency reported.

Saudi authorities arrested 16 Saudis, an Iranian and a Lebanese in four areas: Mecca, Medina, Riyadh and Eastern Province, a spokesperson of Saudi Interior Minister said in a statement.

The spokesperson said the suspects were charged of collecting information about vital establishments in Saudi Arabia for the intelligence of another country, stopping short of revealing the country's name.

The local Okaz newspaper referred to the group as a terror cell, the members of which had been planning explosions in vital locations.

Saudi Cleric Urges Reforms to Ease Tensions in Kingdom

Source : http://www.almanar.com.lb

Saudi preacher has appealed for reforms in the ultra- conservative kingdom, warning in an open letter posted Saturday on social networks that denial of rights was raising tensions in the country.

"The people have aspirations, demands and rights and they will not stay silent on total or partial confiscation of their rights. When you lose hope, you can do anything," said Salman al-Auda from Sahwa, a movement close to the Muslim Brotherhood.

He appealed for a series of reforms and "opening of a new horizon" in the kingdom which applies a strict version of Islam.

Auda said the rising tension in Saudi Arabia was the result of "corruption, unemployment, poor housing, weak health and educational services and a lack of political reforms."

He said "a security solution would only aggravate the situation and block the path to reforms," adding that "nobody wishes to see a spark transform into a fire that would burn the country".

The detention of Saudis accused of extremism would only "increase the bitterness, the desire for revenge and mushrooming of jihadist thinking in prisons," Auda warned.

The cleric, whose sermons are popular in religious programs on Televisions, called for the release of rights activists like Mohammad Gahtani and Abdallah al-Hamed jailed for denouncing human rights abuses, and denounced the "continuing practice of censorship" by the kingdom's information officials.

Saudi Arabia has remained relatively untouched by the Arab Spring uprisings, but protesters have tried holding peaceful demonstrations to demand the release of prisoners of conscience.

An independent Saudi rights organization says the country has about 30,000 political prisoners, a charge Riyadh denies, claiming there are none.

Saudis hold demo in support of jailed female protesters

Via :  Tehran Times

Saudis have staged anti- regime demonstrations in the capital, Riyadh, and the eastern city of Qatif to express support for jailed female protesters.

The demonstrators called for the immediate release of a group of women who were arrested in the central city of Buraidah last week.

Activists say Saudi security forces arrested over 300 protesters, including scores of women and children, on March 1, after hundreds of Saudis gathered outside the investigation and prosecution bureau in Buraidah to demand the release of political prisoners.

Saudi authorities, however, claim that 161 people were arrested in connection with Buraidah protest and that they have so far freed some 100 of the detainees.

Protests against the ruling Al Saud dynasty have recently spread from the Eastern Province to other parts of the kingdom, with people of Buraidah threatening to stage a revolution against the regime.

In last week's protest in Buraidah, some protesters burned photographs of Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who is King Abdullah's nephew.

Saudi activists say there are more than 30,000 political prisoners, mostly prisoners of conscience, in jails across the Kingdom.

According to the activists, most of the detained political thinkers are being held by the government without trial or legitimate charges and have been arrested for merely looking suspicious.

Damascus briefs UN on transfer of Libyan, Saudi arms, militants to Syria

Source :  Strategic-Culture.org

Syria has written to the United Nations over a measure by Turkey to assign a special mission to a Libyan ship carrying arms and terrorists to help the militants fighting against Damascus.

Syrian Foreign Ministry highlighted Ankara’s interference in the Arab country’s internal affairs in letters to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and current Chairman of the UN Security Council Vitaly Churkin, Syria’s official news agency SANA reported on Thursday.

According to the letters, Turkish lawmakers have recently raised the issue of Turkey’s Interior Ministry assigning a special mission to a Libyan ship, dubbed “Intisar,” to carry 400 tons of weapons and hand them over to the militants fighting against the Syrian government.

The Libyan ship, which entered Turkey’s Iskenderun Port about two months ago, also carried 250 Libyans to fight along with militants in Syria, the letters said.

The Ministry said the enquiry list was submitted to the Turkish Parliament by Atilla Kart, a member of Turkey’s Republican People's Party (CHP).

The Turkish lawmaker has also urged Ankara to explain the reasons behind permitting “three C-130 Saudi airplanes earmarked for military transportation and evacuation to use the Turkish airspace to transport weapons and gunmen to Syria,” according to the letters.

The letters further said, Turkish Cumhuriyet newspaper mentioned in its version published a few days ago that Hursit Gunes, another member of the Republican People's Party, has submitted a criminal complaint against the government officials over their anti-Syria policies.

According to the Syrian ministry, Gunes said in a press conference that the ruling Justice and Development Party trains gunmen in Turkey, transports weapons to Syria and provides all types of support to the armed groups in Syria.

He added that a number of militants’ leaders in Syria have provided information in this regard to international news agencies and media.

“This information proves in an irrefutable way that the Turkish territories have become a center for gathering, harboring, exporting, supporting and financing terrorism and terrorists from al-Qaeda to work inside Syria under the supervision of the Turkish government,” the ministry added.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry also expressed hope that the United Nations will fulfill its responsibility of “condemning the acts perpetrated by the Turkish government and by the other countries which support and finance al-Qaeda- linked armed terrorist groups” in Syria.

Press TV

Saudi Arabia arrests over 300 women and men

Source : http://old.mehrnews.com

TEHRAN, Mar. 2 (MNA) – Security forces in Saudi Arabia have arrested over 300 women and men who were protesting in front of the Attorney General Inspection Office.

In this massive rally yesterday, (Friday) the families of Saudi detainees gathered in front of the Attorney General Inspection Office in ‘Buraydah’, capital of Al-Qassim Province, to protest the illegal arrest and detention of their loved ones.

The website, Aljazeeraalarabianews.com said that 15 of the arrested people were women. The gathering of Saudi citizen and their insistence to continue their sit-in protests brought Saudi security forces to attack them and they arrested more than 300 of the protestors including 15 women.

The participants on this sit-in rally stressed that, until the women are released from custody, they will not accept the negotiation offer by the representative of Qassim Province Emir.

Expert: Iran can block up to one third of world oil exports in case of war

Source :   Trend.Az

In  case of an attempt to solve the Iranian problem by military force, the country can block up to a third of the world's oil exports, largely through striking tankers that come from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, professor at Kazakh National University of Defense Georgiy Dubovtsev believes.

He said it cannot be said that a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities will not bring costly ramifications. Everything that could be destroyed would be rebuilt within a few years.

"And no one is capable of occupying Iran, as the population of this country is unwaveringly patriotic. Everyone will resist foreign invasion. But the results of such military attacks can be disastrous not only for the Gulf region, but for the whole world. Attacking Iran would not only result in a large-scale military conflict, but would also destabilize the situation in the entire Middle East, "Dubovtsev told journalists.

He said in case of war, Iran will have more arguments in favor of possessing nuclear weapons and abolition of the IAEA control system.

"Secondly, the Iranian government has sufficient methods to influence the U.S. and Israel, such the termination of oil supplies, supporting anti-Israeli and anti-American forces in the region and organizing direct rebel attacks via Lebanon," he said.

Via its ballistic missiles, Iran could also strike a blow at the U.S. military bases in the southern Persian Gulf. Enforcement actions can provoke active measures for organization of the world oil crisis, and not only by suspension of oil exports from Iran, which will push up prices for "black gold." In addition, Tehran, speaking as a victim, can find allies amongst Muslim nations.

"It is still important to pursue the same goal for the P5+1 group: the Iranian nuclear program should be resolved only through peaceful means. And if the Iranian side presents a clear report in Almaty, the U.S. is ready for a diplomatic solution of the problem by discussing it at the multilateral level," the expert said.

US has secret drone base in Saudi Arabia

Source : Al Akhbar English

The Comments high-profile US drone strike that killed American-born radical preacher Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen was partly conducted from a secret air base in Saudi Arabia, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.

The base was established two years ago as part of US efforts to intensify the pursuit of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a grouping of the Yemeni and Saudi offshoots of the global terror network, the newspaper said.

The September 2011 killing of Awlaki stoked concern because he and Samir Khan, a Pakistani-American who also died in the strike, were US citizens who had never been charged with a crime.

The White House on Tuesday defended drone strikes against Al- Qaeda suspects as legal, ethical and wise and insisted that they complied with US law and the constitution, even if they targeted Americans.

The continued focus on drones comes as White House counter- terrorism chief John Brennan goes before the Senate on Thursday for hearings on his nomination to be head of the CIA.

Brennan has been a central player in the US drone campaign, which has expanded sharply under President Barack Obama despite qualms about its legality and public outrage in Pakistan over civilian deaths.

Brennan, who once served as the CIA's station chief in Saudi Arabia, played a key role in negotiations that led to the drone base being established in the kingdom, according to the Post report.

The newspaper said it decided to reveal the location of the drone base after learning on Tuesday that another US media outlet was about to do so, ending an informal arrangement with news organizations not to publish such details.

A Justice Department memo published by NBC News on Tuesday argued that Americans high up in Al-Qaeda could be lawfully killed, even without evidence they are actively plotting an attack.

"We conduct those strikes because they are necessary to mitigate ongoing actual threats, to stop plots, to prevent future attacks and, again, save American lives," White House spokesman Jay Carney said of the memo.

(AFP)

RedditTweet9 Send by emailPrinter-friendly version Tags Category: Top News Tags: US, Saudi Related Articles US drone war may expand to northwest Africa: report The US military plans to expand its drone program to northwest Africa to bolster surveillance of Islamic militant groups, the New York Times reported Monday. A US official who spoke on condition of...

UAE-Egypt Crisis: Mubarak and Iran Lurk in the Background

Source :  Al Akhbar English

Wednesday’s visit by the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Akbar Salehi to Egypt only added more fuel to the fire burning between Cairo and the United Arab Emirates.

Tensions between the two countries intensified after the recent arrest of 11 Egyptians in the UAE on charges of belonging to a secret Muslim Brotherhood cell that was plotting to destabilize the country.

Abu Dhabi fears that relations between its long-time foe Iran and, until recently, its close ally Egypt will improve as its relations with Cairo sour.

According to head of the Cairo-based al-Sharq Center for Regional and Strategic Studies Mustafa al-Labbad, Egyptian-Iranian relations have a long way to go before they return to normal.

He dismisses the idea that Salehi’s visit will significantly change the nature of the relationship between the two countries, arguing that it is intended to prevent relations from worsening.

As an example, he points out the collapse of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi’s attempt to bring together Iran, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia to devise a solution for resolving the Syrian crisis.

In the case of the UAE, he attributes the increasing tensions to “threats that the regime is sensing, particularly from the rising star of the Islah Front in the UAE, which is seen as a shadow branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.

“Saudi Arabia, too, shares the same concerns that the Muslim Brotherhood will one day influence a section of the Saudi elite that is independent of the regime, thus threatening Riyadh’s influential role in the Arab world.”

Former advisor to the Egyptian foreign minister Hani Khlaf largely agrees with Labbad, criticizing Mursi’s speech at the last Summit of the Non- Aligned in Tehran, in which the Egyptian president “reminded us of sectarian divisions between Sunnis and Shia.”

He adds that any new government in Egypt was bound to have problems with those Gulf countries that once had warm and close relations with the fallen Mubarak regime.

He suggests that one source of Abu Dhabi’s frustrations toward Cairo may be due to the fact that successive Egyptian governments after the revolution “refused an offer by the Emirates to pay a large sum of money – possibly amounting to billions of dollars – to keep Mubarak out of jail.”

Khlaf explains that the UAE did this out of loyalty to Mubarak, adding that Egypt’s current relationship with the Arab Gulf countries after the revolution is the opposite of what it was before.

“For example, the Mubarak regime maintained close ties with the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain before the revolution as compared to tepid relations with Qatar and Kuwait,” Khlaf says.

“These two countries,” he adds, “were therefore more supportive of any attempts to shed remnants of the old order, as opposed to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, in particular.”

Khlaf further attributes the crisis to “the presence of symbols of the old [Egyptian] regime in the Emirates, in addition to businessmen who had ties to Mubarak.”

Many of them, he explains, are very influential, having developed close contacts with a number of powerful members of the Emirati ruling class and have been granted residency there as a result.

And it did not help that the Egyptian presidency showed such high concern for the alleged Muslim Brotherhood cell, according to Khlaf.

It was to such an extent that Egypt’s intelligence chief, Rifaat Shehata, joined the high-level delegation sent to the UAE to look into the case of those arrested.

Saudi Intelligence Main Publisher of Nusra Front

Source : http://www.almanar.com

Saudi General Intelligence is the main publisher of al-Qaeda linked extremist group in Syria, al-Nusra Front, a report said.

The Itelligence Online Newsletter in Paris which receives information from foreign intelligence sources as saying that the Saudi intelligence, led by Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Sultan took advantage of its communication with armed groups in Iraq to help making al-Nusra front.

"Thanks to funding from the General Intelligence Department and support from the Saudi Intelligence in Lebanon, al-Nusra was able to swiftly arm its forces, and make the Syrian regime suffer painful blows through its expertise in Iraqi bombings,” the Intelligence Online report noted.

The report confirms what some websites have said days earlier, concerning leaked Saudi confidential documents which said that the Saudi interior ministry had sent a military official who is in charge of supporting Syria insurgents with money and weapons.

Saudi Arabia appoints 30 female parliamentarians for first time

Source : Xinhua | English.news.cn

RIYADH, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia on Friday appointed 30 women for the first time to the 150-member Shura Council for the next four years, Saudi News Agency reported.

Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud issued a decree earlier in the day, announcing the names of the 30 women as part of an amendment to the Shura Council, which stipulates a no less than 20 percent quota for women in the previously all-male council.

According to the report, there will be a segregation between male and female members in the council as women would have their own gate to enter and leave the council's hall as well as the separate offices and utilities from their male colleagues.

The king highlighted that the amendment was made after reviewing the Governance Statute and regulations and consulting with a number of Ulema (scholars), said the report, adding that the newly appointed female members will share the same rights and duties of their male colleagues.