Salaf_us_Saleh
Junior Member
JEDDAH – A former Syrian official has said Saudi Arabia expelled three Syrian diplomats from the country in October 2012 because of a botched plot to blow up certain installations in the holy city of Makkah at the peak of last year’s Haj.
Emad Moeen Al-Haraki, who was a military officer at the Syrian Consulate in Jeddah, told Al-Hayat daily newspaper that the three diplomats “were part of a committee charged with planning and carrying out the blasts on the Day of Arafat.”
He identified the trio as Shawqi Al-Shammat, former Syrian deputy consul in Jeddah, Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Al-Fashtaki, a senior security official, and Ali Qodsiyah, an intelligence officer who was a cousin of Syria’s national security director.
Al-Haraki said he had tipped off the Saudi authorities about the plot and the diplomats were subsequently expelled from the country.
Al-Haraki said he had learned of the plot when his superiors informed him that he was selected to carry out the operation in Makkah. He said Al-Shammat broke the news to him over the phone in Thailand, where he was vacationing with his family.
Shortly after receiving the call, Al-Haraki revealed the plot to the Saudi authorities and told them about a Lebanese Hezbollah cell that was working in tandem with Al-Shammat on the details of the operation.
“I think this is the reason why the three diplomats were expelled,” Al-Haraki said. He said the Syrian regime chose this time of the year for the attack because most security officers would be busy at the ritual sites.
Al-Shammat promised him that the Syria’s ruling Ba’ath Party would give him a huge financial reward for carrying out the attack.
Al-Haraki said on the day the three diplomats were expelled, he received a telegram from the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying he was sentenced to death in absentia for treason.
Al-Haraki said he immediately contacted the Saudi authorities, who offered him and his family full security and protection in the Kingdom.
The Kingdom announced the expulsion of three people working at the Syrian Consulate in Jeddah on Oct. 25, 2012.
“The steps were taken based on the public interest as their conduct was incompatible with the consular duties associated with their work,” said a Foreign Ministry statement carried by the state media.
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20130127150763
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Syria had planned to explode a bomb during the Haj (pilgrimage) season last year, a former military officer has said.
Imad Al Haraki, a Syrian officer who worked for the Syrian consulate in the Red Sea resort of Jeddah, told the London-based Al Hayat daily that he had been selected by the Syrian government to carry out the act of terrorism on the ninth day of Dhul Hijja when around three million people gathered at the Arafat Mount, the peak of the pilgrimage rituals.
The former deputy General Consul, Shawqi Shamat, conveyed the mission orders to him, he said.
“I was vacationing in Thailand with my family when I received a phone call from the deputy Consul telling men that I was to carry out an operation in the sacred city of Makkah, but without specifying the location” he told the daily. “I was told that I would return home to Syria following the bombing and lead a lavish life.”
However, Al Haraki chose on October 23 to alert the Saudi authorities about the plot and three diplomats in the consulate were deported two days later, according to the article published by Al Hayat on Saturday. Haj started on October 24 and the Arafat Mount gathering was on October 25.
The former officer said that he also told the Saudis about the existence of a Hezbullah cell in Jeddah and about its network of more than 20 people who were in direct contact with Shamat and the consulate.
Al Haraki said that he received information from Syria on the day the three diplomats were deported that he had been sentenced to death, prompting him to ask the Saudi authorities for protection.
In October, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported that Riyadh deported three Syrian diplomats of the Jeddah-based Syrian Consulate General.
The official agency quoted a Saudi foreign ministry spokesman as saying that the behaviours of the three deported were incompatible with their consular duties and assignments. No further details were given.
http://www.albawaba.com/news/syria-hajj-466473
Emad Moeen Al-Haraki, who was a military officer at the Syrian Consulate in Jeddah, told Al-Hayat daily newspaper that the three diplomats “were part of a committee charged with planning and carrying out the blasts on the Day of Arafat.”
He identified the trio as Shawqi Al-Shammat, former Syrian deputy consul in Jeddah, Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Al-Fashtaki, a senior security official, and Ali Qodsiyah, an intelligence officer who was a cousin of Syria’s national security director.
Al-Haraki said he had tipped off the Saudi authorities about the plot and the diplomats were subsequently expelled from the country.
Al-Haraki said he had learned of the plot when his superiors informed him that he was selected to carry out the operation in Makkah. He said Al-Shammat broke the news to him over the phone in Thailand, where he was vacationing with his family.
Shortly after receiving the call, Al-Haraki revealed the plot to the Saudi authorities and told them about a Lebanese Hezbollah cell that was working in tandem with Al-Shammat on the details of the operation.
“I think this is the reason why the three diplomats were expelled,” Al-Haraki said. He said the Syrian regime chose this time of the year for the attack because most security officers would be busy at the ritual sites.
Al-Shammat promised him that the Syria’s ruling Ba’ath Party would give him a huge financial reward for carrying out the attack.
Al-Haraki said on the day the three diplomats were expelled, he received a telegram from the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying he was sentenced to death in absentia for treason.
Al-Haraki said he immediately contacted the Saudi authorities, who offered him and his family full security and protection in the Kingdom.
The Kingdom announced the expulsion of three people working at the Syrian Consulate in Jeddah on Oct. 25, 2012.
“The steps were taken based on the public interest as their conduct was incompatible with the consular duties associated with their work,” said a Foreign Ministry statement carried by the state media.
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20130127150763
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Syria had planned to explode a bomb during the Haj (pilgrimage) season last year, a former military officer has said.
Imad Al Haraki, a Syrian officer who worked for the Syrian consulate in the Red Sea resort of Jeddah, told the London-based Al Hayat daily that he had been selected by the Syrian government to carry out the act of terrorism on the ninth day of Dhul Hijja when around three million people gathered at the Arafat Mount, the peak of the pilgrimage rituals.
The former deputy General Consul, Shawqi Shamat, conveyed the mission orders to him, he said.
“I was vacationing in Thailand with my family when I received a phone call from the deputy Consul telling men that I was to carry out an operation in the sacred city of Makkah, but without specifying the location” he told the daily. “I was told that I would return home to Syria following the bombing and lead a lavish life.”
However, Al Haraki chose on October 23 to alert the Saudi authorities about the plot and three diplomats in the consulate were deported two days later, according to the article published by Al Hayat on Saturday. Haj started on October 24 and the Arafat Mount gathering was on October 25.
The former officer said that he also told the Saudis about the existence of a Hezbullah cell in Jeddah and about its network of more than 20 people who were in direct contact with Shamat and the consulate.
Al Haraki said that he received information from Syria on the day the three diplomats were deported that he had been sentenced to death, prompting him to ask the Saudi authorities for protection.
In October, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported that Riyadh deported three Syrian diplomats of the Jeddah-based Syrian Consulate General.
The official agency quoted a Saudi foreign ministry spokesman as saying that the behaviours of the three deported were incompatible with their consular duties and assignments. No further details were given.
http://www.albawaba.com/news/syria-hajj-466473