One of the two terrorists killed in Saturday's shootout in Riyadh has been identified as Tayea Salem Yaslam Al-Sayari, who was wanted for plotting the attack on the Prophet's Mosque last year. Al-Sayari was said to have designed the explosive belts and other devices that were used in the botched attacks on the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah and the parking lots of Dr. Soliman Fakeeh Hospital in Jeddah earlier on July 4, 2016, as well as the attack on a mosque used by Saudi special forces in the southern Saudi city of Abha on Aug. 9, 2015. The security authorities described the two terrorists, particularly Al-Sayari, as ‘dangerous'. They added that Al-Sayari was considered to be an expert in Daesh (so-called IS) terrorist organization in manufacturing explosive vests, explosives and preparing suicide bombers to carry out their criminal acts in targeting worshipers and other innocent people. The second terrorist was identified as Talal Bin Samran Al-Saedi. Both Al-Sayari and Saedi were Saudi nationals. Saudi security forces killed the two extremists in a security operation in the Yasmeen district, north of Riyadh. The site was surrounded since dawn Saturday. When security forces asked the militants to surrender, they started heavy gunfire at the security men in an attempt to flee from the scene. This forced the security men to kill the two, especially since they were wearing explosive vests ready to be detonated, Saudi Ministry of Interior Spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki said during a press conference on Saturday night. None of the residents or passersby in the district was hurt. One security man was slightly injured and was taken to hospital. His condition is stable. The two terrorists were using the house in Riyadh to assemble explosive devices and suicide belts. Several guns, one home-made hand grenade and suicide belts were confiscated from the house after the operation was completed. Another Saudi interior ministry official confirmed more details behind Al-Sayari's past. "Tayea Al-Sayari was a scholarship student in New Zealand in the past where he majored in engineering. He had gone to Syria to join Daesh fighters. Later on, he made his way to Turkey and then to Sudan and then to Yemen before coming back to Saudi Arabia to plot and design explosive devices that were used in two terror attacks last year," the official said.
