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London, 25 April [MENA]--Citing high-level sources in Kuwait, the newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat reports today that Iraqi elements infiltrated Kuwait's northern border on 13 April prior to former U.S. President George Bush's visit to Kuwait to carry out several acts of sabotage, including the assassination of Bush and his entourage.
The newspaper says the elements were arrested before they could carry out their terrorist operations. The eight-member group includes one Kuwaiti citizen. The others are from the Bidun category (stateless Bedouins who live permanently in Kuwait) and are of Iraqi origin. They left Kuwait during the Gulf war crisis and now work for Iraqi intelligence.
The newspaper adds that the defendants confessed to their Kuwaiti interrogators that they had come to Kuwait to carry out acts of sabotage during Bush's visit.
The defendants said Iraqi intelligence drew up a three-phased plan for them. They were to assassinate Bush as he left the airport. If that failed, they were to use a booby-trapped vehicle to blow up the building where Bush would be awarded an honorary doctorate by Kuwait University. If they could not get the car to the ceremony, they were to detonate a car bomb in a public place crowded with civilians.
The sources said the elements were arrested in Al-Jahra' Governorate and made detailed confessions of what they intended to do.
Kuwait.--Kuwaiti sources have revealed to Al-Sharq Al-Awsat full details of the arrest of elements of the Iraqi terrorist network which tried to carry out a number of sabotage operations inside Kuwait.
The sources pointed out that the network planned to destroy commercial installations and key places in Kuwait, using arms, bombs, explosives, and technical equipment to facilitate its first task, namely blowing up former U.S. President George Bush's motorcade.
The sources said that a force from the Kuwaiti interior ministry stormed a number of barns in the Al-Sulaybiyah area after receiving information about the presence of the two fugitive Iraqi suspects there. But this operation did not succeed, because they had left the site a few hours before the force arrived. They added that all those under suspicion in the area were arrested and interrogated to find out where the two suspects fled to.
When Al-Sharq Al-Awsat asked about the possibility of the two suspects' fleeing to Iraqi territory by land or Iranian territory by sea, the sources said that their fleeing by sea is a weak possibility, because of the extensive coastguard patrols, which are difficult to penetrate.
But the Kuwaiti authorities' fear is that they might manage to flee across the borders on foot, avoiding the interior and defense ministries' security posts.
The sources said that the terrorist network and their supporters are mercenaries and former convicts. And that 15 suspects have been arrested so far. They include 10 Iraqis, four Kuwaitis, and one non-Kuwaiti.
Following are the names of the suspects and their roles in the sabotage operation, as mentioned in the investigations conducted by the state security prosecution office:
Suspect no. 1: Ra'd 'Abd-Al-Amir 'Abbud Al-Asadi; Iraqi, age 22 (under arrest); assumed name Fahd Hamid Mutlaq.
Role in the operation: Leader of the sabotage network and main executor of the plan; member of Iraqi intelligence, works in a cafe in Al-Basrah as a cover; Iraqi intelligence supplied him with 10 explosive charges as well as arms and explosives to sabotage shops, markets, and vital installations in the country; Iraqi intelligence supplied him with a vehicle (super ban) (as published) to use to infiltrate the country; the Kuwaiti number plate is forged and does not belong to the vehicle; brought with him from Iraq a quantity of alcoholic drinks to deceive security men about the real aims of the operation.
Suspect no. 2: Wali 'Abd-Al-Hadi 'Abd-Al-Hasan Al-Ghazali; Iraqi, age 26 (under arrest).
Role in the operation: On a suicide mission, to blow himself up with the booby-trapped jeep; received training in Iraqi intelligence camps in bombing operations and the use of explosives; to participate with suspects nos. 1, 2, and 3 in the bombing plan and blow up the jeep by remote control.
In the event of failure to blow up the jeep the decision was to blow himself up among the crowd and citizens, using a belt of explosives. He was trained in its use by Iraqi intelligence. A forged passport was found on him.
Suspect no. 3: Salim Nasir Rumi Al-Shamari; Iraqi, age 40 (under arrest), assumed name Khalid Farhan Salih.
Role in the operation: Key member of the network; an Iraqi intelligence element; former convict; knew of infiltration operations and smuggling of alcoholic drinks; investigated one of the coalition forces' positions in order to blow it up and spread alarm and confusion; to watch coalition forces' positions on the Kuwaiti-Saudi-Iraqi border, particularly posts on the Kuwaiti border.
Suspect no. 4: Bandar 'Ujayl Jabir Al-Shamari; Iraqi, age 22 (under arrest), assumed name Hamdan Sa'ud Sa'd.
Role in the operation: Key member of the sabotage network, Iraqi intelligence element; has full knowledge of the sabotage plan and knows desert roads and routes; sheltered the network leader and suspects nos. 2 and 3 and facilitated their movements in view of his knowledge of the locations, as he was resident in Kuwait and has been deported after the invasion; a former convict, accused in several cases.
Suspect no. 5: 'Adil Isma'il 'Isa'; Iraqi, age 42 (under arrest).
Role in the operation: Key member of the network and an Iraqi intelligence element; drove the super ban vehicle in which elements of the network infiltrated the country; participated in planning the operation of entering the country; hid explosive charges in the Al-Barr (as transliterated) area and, after his arrest, informed
police of their whereabouts; sheltered suspects nos. 6, 7, and 8; has a friendship with suspect no. 14, who is involved in smuggling and trading in alcoholic drinks and drugs; former convict, sentenced in several cases.
Suspect no. 6: Hadi `Awdah Harjan Al-Shamari; Iraqi, age 42 (under arrest).
Role in the operation: Member of the network; knew of the plan and its aims; inspected explosives himself and ensured their correct preparation, offered suspect no. 14 a quantity of drugs to sell inside the country and share the money with members of the network.
Suspect no. 7: `Ali Khudayr Biday `Id (known as Al-Majidi); Iraqi, age 64 (under arrest).
Role in the operation: Member of Iraqi intelligence; element of support for members of the network; Iraqi intelligence supplied him with a Kalashnikov to resist security men if they should confront the network; knew of the plan and saw the explosives; participated in bringing the explosives from Iraq in collaboration with suspect no. 6.
Suspect no. 8: Jabbar Nasir Zayir; Iraqi, age 42 (under arrest).
Role in the operation: Member of Iraqi intelligence; knew of the plan; saw the arms, bombs, and explosives to be used in the sabotage operation.
Suspect no. 9: Daydan `Atiyyah Al-Khalidi; Iraqi (at large).
Suspect no. 10: Jabbar Habib Muhammad; Iraqi, age 45 (under arrest).
Role in the operation: Member of Iraqi intelligence; knew of the arms, explosives, alcoholic drinks, and drugs seized with them (suspects); knew of details of the sabotage plan; knows all members of the network, who are Iraqi intelligence members; father of suspect no. 11 and related to suspect no. 1, leader of the network.
Suspect no. 11: Ahmad Jabbat Habib Muhammad; Iraqi, age 21 (under arrest).
Role in the operation: Concealed information from security men concerning suspects, admitted receiving bag containing the bombs and remote control device before the network members' attempt to flee the country; hid leader of the network and suspects nos. 2, 3, 4, and 10 and helped them to escape to the house of suspect no. 13; son of suspect no. 10.
Suspect no. 12: Badr Jiyad Tamir Mutlaq Al-Shamari; Kuwaiti, age 30 (under arrest), assumed name Badr Salim Al-Shamari.
Role in the operation: Key helper for members of the network; concealed information from security men; hosted leader of the network and suspects nos. 2, 3, and 4 despite his knowledge that they were infiltrators; distributed network members--especially suspects nos. 5, 6, 7, and 8--to various areas of the country to hide them; received alcoholic drinks brought by members of the network to sell inside the country; former convict, accused in several cases.
Suspect no. 13: Muhammad Khalifah `Uqlah; Kuwaiti, age 55 (under arrest).
Role in the operation: concealed information from police; hid and sheltered suspect no. 10 and suspects nos. 2, 3, and 4; met with them privately despite his knowledge that they were infiltrators.
Suspect no. 14: Nasir `Abd-Al-Rida Husayn Al-Sayl; Kuwaiti (under arrest).
Role in the operation: Concealed information from security men; sheltered suspects in his apartment in Al-Salimiyah area, where suspects nos. 5, 6, 7, and 8 were arrested; frequented Al-Jakhur (as transliterated) with suspect no. 5, with whom he had a friendship during his residence in Kuwait.
Suspect no. 15: Salim Jiyad Tamir Mutlaq Al-Shamari; Kuwaiti, age 22 (under arrest).
Role in the operation: Concealed information from security men; facilitated the movements of the network leader and suspect no. 2; met with suspect no. 12.
Suspect no. 16: Nahar Rumi Al-Khalidi; non-Kuwaiti, age 60 (under arrest).
Role in the operation: Concealed information from police; moved the network leader and suspects nos. 2, 3, and 4 to the house of suspect no. 13, where they met; had prior knowledge of the infiltration.
Suspect no. 17: Iraqi (at large); inquiries about him continuing.
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