Al Qaeda vows to ‘cleanse’ Arabian Peninsula. (Hat tip: twostellas.)

“We renew our determination to repel the crusader forces and their arrogance, to liberate the land of Muslims, to apply Sharia [Islamic law] and cleanse the Arabian Peninsula of infidels,” said the website message. …

It said the attacks and hostage-taking were conducted by “four mujahideen,” or Islamic fighters.

The website message, signed by the “Al Qaeda Organisation in the Arabian Peninsula”, headed by Saudi Abdul Aziz al-Muqrin, said only one of the fighters was killed, naming him as “the hero Nimer bin Suhaj al-Baqmi”.

Mr Muqrin tops a Saudi list of most wanted terror suspects, which has been reduced to 18 since it was released amid a massive crackdown on suspected Al Qaeda sympathisers.

“The [other] mujahideen successfully withdrew from the site, despite the strict security measures [by the authorities], toward safety,” said the message.