Riyadh , Asharq Al-Awsat-The Ministry of Interior in Saudi Arabia announced Friday that the individuals killed during the latest security clashes on Thursday alongside Saleh al Awfi were two of the Kingdom’s most wanted members of al Qaeda. They are Majid Hamed al Haseri and Mohammed Abdullah Owaida. Their identities were confirmed after the Ministry carried out DNA analysis.

Al Haseri’s name featured in the list of 36 names announced by Saudi Arabia in June of this year. He was 29 years of age and lived in Riyadh . Owaida’s name, however, was not included. According to new information obtained by Asharq Al Awsat, al Haseri died after his explosives belt detonated during following exchanges of fire in one of the capital’s northern neighborhoods on Thursday. He had recently moved to the capital, after hiding in Medina , to hold discussions with other militants.

Speaking exclusively to Asharq Al Awsat, a security source said al Haseri was one of the most loyal supporters of al Awfi who died during clashes with security forces in Medina also on Thursday, in what was known as the al Awfi cell active in western Saudi Arabia and especially in Medina. The source added, “We have captured most of al Awfi’s supporters and killed his closest aid, Majed al Haseri.”

According to the same source, al Haseri was “known for his religious extremism. He used to be active in the anti-smoking campaign and developed increasingly militant beliefs around 1995 after which he became wanted by the authorities.”

Commenting on the relationship between the two al Qaeda militants, the source revealed, “Al Haseri enjoyed al Awfi’s trust and was kept away from major operations in order to act as a safe haven if needed. However, after the authorities captured messengers who passed on messages between the two, al Haseri sensed danger and went into hiding until he was killed in Riyadh .

He was able to evade capture by Saudi security forces by “using forged documents and moved around the Kingdom with al Awfi who was dressed as a woman.” Not known to have visited Iraq or Chechnya, al Haseri had traveled to Afghanistan in the past.

On the presence of other wanted militants with the same surname, the source confirmed that two other men are on the list of 36 most wanted. They are, “Sultan Saleh al Hasseri, and Mishal al Haseri. The first is still at large while the second was killed during recent clashes in Riyadh. They have the same surname but are not brothers or first cousins.”

Since May 2003, militants loyal to al Qaeda’s leader Osama Bin Laden have frequently targeted Westerners in suicide bombings and kidnappings. More than 140 people have been killed and the attacks have caused at least 250 million US dollars worth of damage.

However, police have killed more than 100 militants in the same period and there have been no attacks this year on the scale of the multiple suicide bombings of residential compounds in 2003 or the targeted killings of Westerners twelve months ago.