Dar al-Islam

In the heart of the Islamic world - Mecca - a car chase and gunbattle broke out when security forces raided a suspected terrorist hideout.

“Security forces raided a group of terrorists... who were preparing for an imminent terror attack,” the Interior Ministry statement said. The apartment where the terrorists were living was “booby-trapped and ready to blow up,” it added.

The Saudis are firmly on our side in the fight against terror within their country. Their external commitment is questionable, since they tend to see the rest of the world as a good place to dump the folks who would cause trouble at home. With the surprising muscularity of al-Qaeda in the past five years, the Kingdom has had to deal with the results of its policies, and it's found that you really can't bargain with this type of terrorist.