GCC Ministers To Infiltrators From Iraq.

Arab Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) interior ministers will meet in Riyadh on May 23 to work out strategies to prevent a possible infiltration of Neo-Salafi or Shi'ite terrorists from Iraq into their area, in view of the deteriorating situation in Iraq (see ood5-IraqTurkeyMay15-06).

The meeting will review the ongoing GCC efforts in combating terrorism. UAE Interior Minister Lt Gen. Shaikh Saif bin Zayed al-Nahyan will chair the meeting at the Conference Palace. The Saudi delegation will be headed by Interior Minister Prince Nayef ibn Abdul Aziz.

The meeting is expected to adopt a string of measures aimed at strengthening co-operation in wiping out the scourge of terrorism and draining out sources of terror funding. The interior ministers will look into various aspects of strengthening their security, especially in the wake of the highly volatile situation prevailing in Iraq.

There are apprehensions that terrorists, mostly non-Iraqi fighters including volunteers from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the other GCC states, may infiltrate into the GCC region after receiving training in the war-torn country.

A meeting of the interior ministers of Iraq's neighbouring countries is scheduled to be held in Jeddah in September.

Saudi Arabia had been battling al-Qaeda terrorists for the past three years. Officials say about 144 foreigners and Saudis, including security forces, and 120 terrorists have died in attacks and clashes in Iraq since May 2003.

Prince Nayef recently announced the Saudi government's decision to set up a national security court to try terrorists in the next six months. To curb terror funding, he had issued directives banning the collection of donations from students, at various phases of education, towards or for the benefit of charitable organisations.