SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Arabia warned Muslim militants they would share the fate of their slain leader unless they repented, as al-Qaeda vowed renewed "holy war" in the kingdom.
Al-Qaeda's leader in Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz al-Muqrin, was shot dead by Saudi forces on Friday along with three other prominent militants hours after they beheaded American hostage Mr Paul Johnson, whose body has still not been found.
"We tell this deviant group and others that if they do not return to the right path, they will meet the same fate or worse," Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Abdullah, said late on Saturday.
"Security forces will deal with them, God willing, and with every aggressor inside or abroad," he added.
State television showed the bloodied corpses of the four militants, saying they had been behind a wave of violence against foreigners in the Gulf state. "The government is strong and will eradicate the enemy and cleanse the country of them," Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef, said.
Al-Qaeda confirmed the killings of Abdulaziz al-Muqrin and three others in an Internet statement on Saturday, but voiced defiance. "The Mujahideen are continuing the jihad (holy struggle) that they have pledged to God and the killing of their brothers will not weaken their resolve but only increase their determination and commitment," it said.
Twelve other militants were arrested on Friday, including a senior figure suspected of involvement in the 2000 bombing of the US warship Cole off the coast of neighbouring Yemen.
Saudi foreign policy adviser, Adel al-Jubeir, said Riyadh would pursue Islamic extremists without mercy. "We believe that with this blow to al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia yesterday, we have substantially weakened their organisation. We will continue to pursue them with vigour until we eliminate them from our midst. We will show no mercy," he said.
He said reports on Friday that Mr Johnson's body had been found were incorrect. Paul Johnson was the third American killed in Riyadh in the past 10 days. He worked for defence contractor Lockheed Martin making Apache helicopter gunships, used by US and Israeli forces.
The Algerian military has killed the leader of an Islamic rebel organisation with ties to al-Qaeda, the army said yesterday. "Units of the People's National Army, engaged in a vast anti-terrorist operation...have killed a number of criminals, including Nabil Sahraoui, alias Mustapha Abou Ibrahim, chief of the terrorist group known as the GSPC, as well as his (three) main aides," the army said.