Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The Interior Ministry announced on Tuesday the execution of a Daesh militant who killed his cousin after luring him into a desert area more than three years ago.

Saad Bin Radhi Al-Anzi, a Saudi national, was handed the death sentence following a trial, which found him guilty of committing terrorist acts, including luring his own cousin to a desert area and killing him in the region of Hail.

In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency, the ministry stressed the need to root out those who violate the safety and security of the Kingdom.

The crime shook the Kingdom as it was videotaped, and the man’s cousin was seen begging for him not to kill him, repeatedly screaming, “Enough Saad”.

Al-Anzi had also committed two other crimes; the first was killing two citizens at the Amair Bin Sanaa police station, and the second was shooting a sergeant, Abdulelah Al-Rashidi, at Al-Shamli traffic department in Hail province.

Al-Anzi was captured in a security operation in September 2015 from his hideout in mountainous area near Al-Shamli. An accomplice and a policeman were killed in an ensuing shootout.

The operation was launched in response to the video that was shared on social media in which one of the two men appeared to shoot dead a man he had tied up at the behest of Daesh.

Investigators said the two brothers had also killed two civilians and a policeman in Al-Shamli on the same day.

The gunmen refused to surrender and opened fire on security forces, who retaliated, killing one of them and wounding and capturing the other.

In a press conference following the operation, Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki said the video helped security forces recognize the man, who they identified as a Daesh loyalist.

Al-Turki explained that investigations revealed that the deceased was a 21-year-old member of the security forces, Mudawwas Ayash Al-Anzi. He added that the deceased’s cousins Saad Al-Anzi, 21, and Abdul Aziz Al-Anzi, 18, lured him into the desert and then killed him.

After an intensive search, the deceased’s body was found in the mountain area.