CLOAK AND DAGGER

Westerners were the bombers: Saudis

Saudi Arabia has proof that seven Westerners released earlier this month were in fact guilty of a wave of bombings in the Kingdom but were pardoned in an effort to smooth relations with Britain, a Saudi official said yesterday. The statement contradicts reports in the British media about the newly freed prisoners.
Adel Al-Jubeir, foreign affairs adviser to Crown Prince Abdullah, said Saudi Arabia reaffirmed that the men — five Britons, a Canadian and a Belgian — had indeed carried out the bombings, which resulted in the death of one person and the wounding of several others.
“What happened is there was a series of explosions that were perpetrated by rival gangs who were involved in smuggling alcohol. We have the evidence, we have the proof and we stand by it,” Al-Jubeir told BBC radio.
[The Britons were not tortured while in captivity as friends and relatives have claimed, an adviser to Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz told BBC radio.]