Published January 14, 2015
A wanted Saudi militant whose last known whereabouts were in Iran has surrendered to authorities in Saudi Arabia, the Interior Ministry said Wednesday.
The announcement came less than a week after another militant, also on the Saudi wanted list, tricked the country's anti-terror chief, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, into believing he wanted to surrender, then tried to kill him.
Mohammed was lightly injured in Thursday's attack, for which al-Qaida later claimed responsibility.
The Interior Ministry statement Wednesday said Fawwaz al-Otaibi, 36, had called up his parents and said he wanted to return to the kingdom and turn himself in.
It also said the man had performed the minor Omra pilgrimage in the holy Saudi city of Mecca on Tuesday, but didn't say when al-Otaibi contacted his parents or how long he has been in custody.
Details about al-Otaibi released by the ministry in February said he had left the kingdom for the United Arab Emirates a year ago and that his last known whereabouts were in Iran.
Saudi Arabia issued the wanted list in February, with the names of 83 Saudis and two Yemenis, all living abroad.
Mohammed's attacker, Abdullah Hassan Tali Assiri, was hiding in Yemen before he surfaced last week. He blew himself up as Mohammed was on the phone trying to persuade another Yemen-based Saudi militant to return and surrender.
Mohammed has been largely credited for the kingdom's aggressive anti-terror campaign that began in earnest in 2003, when al-Qaida first struck in the kingdom, targeting residential compounds and later oil installations and government buildings.
https://www.foxnews.com/story/wanted-saudi-militant-surrenders-to-authorities