 Al Qaida has employed Iraq as a safe haven for insurgency operations in Saudi Arabia. Islamic sources said Al Qaida has brought thousands of Saudi fighters to Iraq for training and eventual return in a military campaign against the kingdom. They said the operatives have been shuttling between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, bringing weapons, funding and orders for insurgency attacks in both countries. "The [Saudi] security forces have succeeded in making life difficult for them," Saudi opposition leader Saad Al Faqih said. "But this has been counterbalanced by the fact that Iraq is acting as an effective shelter for about 3,000 Saudis opposed to the government." Other analysts assert that as many as 2,500 Saudi nationals have entered Iraq since 2003 to fight the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. More than 350 Saudis were said to have been killed in the fighting. |