- Muhammad bin Nayef
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Prince Mohammad bin Naif bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud (Arabic: محمد بن نايف بن عبد العزيز آل سعود) (born August 30, 1959) is the Saudi Deputy Interior Minister in charge of Counter-Terrorism. He survived an assassination attempt in August 2009.
Contents
Personal life
Born in Jeddah, he moved to Riyadh. He later moved to the United States to study for his bachelor's degree, majoring in Political Science.
Assistant Minister of Interior
He has been commended by Western intelligence agencies for Saudi Arabia's counter-terrorism programs.[1] He has called for a "security channel" with the U.S. to facilitate information exchange. He firmly supported President Obama in Obama's opposition to the release of detainee interrogation photographs. He believes Yemen is a "dangerous failed state" and is becoming a larger threat to Saudi Arabia. He believes Yemeni President Saleh is losing control. He has suggested a strategy of directly working with Yemeni tribes.[2] He strongly condemns terrorism. [2] He believes gaining cooperation with Pakistan in Afghanistan requires cooperating with Pakistan in India.[3] He praised General Kayani as a "good man".[3] He voiced concern about Iran’s nuclear program.[3] He defers foreign policy issues to the King.[3]
In June 2003, al-Qaeda member Abdul Rahman Al-Ghamdi surrendered to him in person.[1] He, unlike most of the royal family, actively talks with the media.[1]
In October 2010, he warned U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser of the 2010 cargo plane bomb plot.[4]
Assassination attempt
On August 27, 2009, he was slightly injured by Abdullah Hassan Al Aseery (al-Asiri), a suicide bomber linked to Al-Qaida. Al Aseery spoke to the Prince a few days prior to the bombing and expressed a desire to turn himself in as part of the country's terrorist rehabilitation program. This was an apparent ploy to get admitted to the Prince's palace. Al Aseery is believed to have traveled to Jeddah from the Yemenite province of Marib. During Ramadan, Al Aseery waited in line at the Prince's Jeddah home as "well-wisher" . He exploded a suicide bomb, killing himself, but only lightly injuring the Prince, who was protected from the full force of the blast by Al Aseery's body. [5][6][7] Prince Muhammad appeared on state television with a bandage around two of his fingers on his left hand. He stated, "I did not want him to be searched, but he surprised me by blowing himself up. However, this will only increase my determination to fight terrorism in the kingdom." [8][9]
This was the first assassination attempt against a royal family member since 2003, when Saudi Arabia faced a sharp uptick in al-Qaeda linked attacks.[10]
Family
He is the second son of Saudi Interior Minister Prince Naif bin Abdul-Aziz and brother of Saudi ambassador to Spain -Prince Saud bin Naif. His sisters are Princesses Norah and Sarah.
He is married to the daughter of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz, Princess Reem bint Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz.
He has two daughters:
Princess Sara and Princess Loulwah.
References
- ^ a b c "Saudi Arabia’s ambitious al-Qaida fighter". Dateline (msnbc.com). July 11, 2005. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8304825//. Retrieved September 30, 2009.
- ^ a b http://cablegate.wikileaks.org/cable/2009/05/09RIYADH670.html
- ^ a b c d http://213.251.145.96/cable/2010/01/10RIYADH90.html
- ^ Mazzetti, Mark; Worth, Robert F. (October 30, 2010). "U.S. Sees Complexity of Bombs as Link to Al Qaeda". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/31/world/31terror.html.
- ^ "Al-Qaida claims attack that injured Saudi prince", Forbes.com, August 30, 2009, http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/08/30/general-ml-saudi-assassination-attempt_6829626.html[dead link]
- ^ Slackman, Michael (August 28, 2009), "Would-Be Killer Linked to Al Qaeda, Saudis Say", The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/29/world/middleeast/29saudi.html, retrieved May 13, 2010
- ^ "Saudi prince spoke to bomber on phone before attack". Reuters. September 2, 2009. Archived from the original on September 2, 2009. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fin.reuters.com%2Farticle%2FworldNews%2FidINIndia-42157320090902&date=2009-09-02. "On the recording broadcast by Saudi-owned Al Arabiya, the two men are heard exchanging pleasantries and congratulating each other for the holy month of Ramadan, which is currently being observed by Muslims around the world, indicating that the conversation took place in recent weeks. 'I need to meet you to tell you the whole story,' the man told the prince. 'If you come I will sit with you and both of us can give whatever he has to his companion,' the prince replied."
- ^ Article at Haaretz
- ^ Article at yahoo-news by Associated Press Writer Abdullah Al-shihri, Fri Aug 28, 11:16 am ET
- ^ "King commended the efforts of the Prince in the service of country and religion" (in Arabic). Al Arabiya. August 28, 2009. http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2009/08/28/83160.html. Retrieved September 30, 2009.
External links
- Al Qaida's Network in the Arabian Peninsula (Yemen), The English Translation of Sada Al-Malahim's Audio Release 'The Descendants of Muhammad bin Maslamah," Released September 21, 2009, The NEFA Foundation, accessed January 4, 2010
- Haaretz article about the bombing.
- Translation of Arabic wikipedia.
Categories:- House of Saud
- Living people
- Suicide bombing
- 1959 births
- Government ministers of Saudi Arabia
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