Saudi Arabia, silent partner to the U.S. in the ambiguously named “war on terror,” has convicted 5,080 people of terrorism crimes, according to state media. –JCL

Reuters:

The reports did not give a time frame for the convictions. Saudi Arabia, with the help of foreign experts, managed to quash an al Qaeda campaign from 2003 to 2006 that targeted expatriate housing compounds, embassies and oil facilities.

Riyadh destroyed the main al Qaeda cells within Saudi Arabia, but some militants slipped into neighboring Yemen and regrouped to form a Yemen-based regional wing that seeks, among other things, the fall of the U.S.-allied Saudi royal family.

The official news agency SPA said the cases of 2,215 people had been transferred to a special terrorism court, quoting a prosecution statement.

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