With Khobar bomber's arrest, Saudi Arabia deals blow to Iran
With the recent arrest of the Khobar Tower bomber, Saudi-Iranian tensions have been elevated to new levels.
It was just another Iran Air flight to Beirut, almost fully booked, carrying two or three groups of pilgrims on their way back from visiting Shiite holy shrines in Iran. Friends and family awaited the passengers’ arrival — with one exception.
Intelligence officials were waiting for Ahmed Ibrahim al-Mughassil, the man authorities blame for the 1996 bombing of US military barracks in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, near the Dhahran air base. The blast killed 19 US Air Force personnel and wounded 372. Mughassil is said to be the head of Saudi Hezbollah, also called Hezbollah al-Hejaz, a group that Saudi authorities accuse of being an Iranian arm in the country.
As three men from Lebanon's intelligence branch watched, Mughassil, also known as Abu Omran, was "heading from the plane to the airport security booth to stamp his Iranian passport, which had been issued under a false name,” according to a Lebanese security source.
The source revealed that none of the security personnel who arrested Mughassil knew who he was, yet “they knew he was a most-wanted fugitive.”
