Ex-cop takes charge of Saudi al-Qaeda helm

Saleh Mohammad al-Oufi, 38, who is number four on the kingdom's list of most wanted militants, "has been designated al-Qaeda chief in Saudi Arabia, succeeding Abdul Aziz al-Muqrin," Asharq al-Awsat said.

The Saudi-owned daily published in London sourced the news to al-Qaeda itself without further detail after Al-Muqrin was gunned down in the capital Riyadh on Friday night along with three of his lieutenants.

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The Saudi Institute, which bills itself as an independent news outfit based in Washington, quoted "intelligence" to confirm al-Oufi's appointment.

It said the one-time police officer, born in Medina, joined "terrorist networks in Afghanistan, and Bosnia where he was injured and returned to Saudi Arabia in 1995.

"Al-Oufi was in the shadows while al-Muqrin was in charge, because he was busy running the secret al-Qaeda camps in Saudi Arabia. He was essentially responsible for training, recruitment, and logistics," the institute said in an e-mail received Sunday.

"Al-Oufi might be more dangerous than Al-Muqrin because he comes from the security ranks and the fact he is a Hijazi from the holy city of Medina where he can recruit from the most economically depressed areas of Saudi Arabia.

"Al-Oufi might also be a more effective al-Qaeda leader because he is older, spent more time in the country than Muqrin, and is more familiar with al-Qaeda network in Saudi Arabia as he was one of those who built it."

"Saleh al-Oufi is the most dangerous" of the al-Qaeda lieutenants left alive in Saudi Arabia, said Al-Hayat, also Saudi-owned and published from London.