The Saudi Arabian man arrested on suspicion of shooting dead two policemen and injuring two others in separate attacks in Riyadh was acting on instructions from the Islamic State group in Syria, the Interior Ministry said on Friday (April 24).
Mohammed Abdulrahman Abu Niyan, 23, has confessed to carrying out the shootings in March and April on behalf of Islamic State, after meeting a representative of the group in the Saudi capital, the ministry said.
“He confessed during the interrogation that took place with him that he fired gunshots at the two policemen on patrol and killed them, and he also confessed that he took these orders from members belonging to the terrorist Daesh (Islamic State) group in Syria,” Interior ministryspokesman Major-General Mansour al-Turki said in a news conference.
Abu Niyan recorded footage of the shooting on a mobile phone, the ministry said, and was preparing car bombs for use in future attacks. He received cash and instructions from Islamic State.
Abu Niyan was detained a week ago attempting to cross into Yemen, where an Islamic State group on Thursday released a video in which it demonstrated military training techniques.
The ministry said it had offered a bounty of 1 million riyals ($266,666) for the capture of Nawaf bin Sharif Samir al-Onaizi, who it said had been Abu Niyan’s accomplice and who had adopted a Moroccan accent and name to disguise his identity.
“The security authorities have managed to determine the identity of the other person accused of carrying out this crime and he is Nawaf bin Sharif Samir al-Onaizi, who is now wanted with a bounty for a million riyals ($265,000) to anyone who can provide information that will lead to his capture,” he added.
Islamic State last year called on followers in the kingdom to carry out attacks against the authorities, Western expatriates and members of the Shi’ite Muslim minority there instead of traveling to Syria or Iraq to join the group.
Reuters
