RIYADH
A suspect arrested in connection with the murder of two Saudi policemen in Riyadh earlier this month have admitted to carrying out the attack upon instructions from the Daesh militant group, authorities have said.
The suspect, identified as 23-year-old Yazid Mohamed Abu Nian, was arrested during a raid on a farm in the central Huraymila province, an Interior Ministry spokesman was quoted as saying by the state-run SPA news agency.
During interrogations, the spokesman said, Abu Nian had confessed to opening fire on a security patrol in eastern Riydah on April 8, killing two policemen, at the instruction of "elements affiliated with the Daesh militant group in Syria."
"Abu Nian was ordered to stay in Saudi Arabia and use his expertise in using weapons and making explosive charges… to carry out [Daesh's] criminal plots," the spokesman was quoted as saying.
Under interrogation, the suspect said he had met a man with a Moroccan accent who identified himself as "Berges" and ordered him to carry out the attack and provided guns, ammunition and 10,000 Saudi riyals for the plot, the spokesman said.
During the raid in which the suspect was arrested, the rifle used in the attack was found, along with mobile phones used for communication between Abu Nian and Daesh militants, he added.
The spokesman said the ministry had managed to identify "Berges" as wanted Saudi national Nawaf Sherif al-Anzi and had called on him to give himself up.
He also announced a 1-million-Saudi-riyal bounty (around $266,000) for any information leading to al-Anzi's arrest.
Saudi Arabia is a member of a U.S.-led coalition that has carried out more than 1,200 airstrikes against Daesh positions in Iraq and Syria since last summer, according to a joint task force leading the operations.
The anti-Daesh alliance also includes France, Germany, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, among others.
