Alerted by Saudi and other intelligence agencies that al-Qaida planned to launch a bloody assault on Muslim pilgrims taking part in the annual pilgrimage - the Hajj - the Saudi government last week launched a huge counterterrorism operation, one of the largest in recent memory, according to U.S. intelligence officials.
Over 3 million Muslims flocked to Mecca for the Hajj pilgrimage which retraces a route taken by the Prophet Mohammed 14 centuries ago. This year's event began Dec 6 under the nervous eye of Saudi security forces that included 20,000 ground forces, flights of combat helicopters and a large number of armored vehicles deployed at key locations, U.S. officials said.
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The Saudi operation began three months ago with preemptive raids by Saudi security forces on suspected al-Qaida cells, according to a former senior CIA official. Several hundred suspects were taken into custody, he said.
U.S. officials would not comment on the nature of the intelligence of a probable terrorist incident, but in November 2007, Saudi security forces arrested 208 al-Qaida suspects accused of planning an attack during the Hajj. Another 28 suspects were arrested the following month.
"The number of al-Qaida in Saudi Arabia isn't very large, but they are just as lethal as ever," said a former senior U.S. intelligence official.
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