November 1, 2001	Thursday	Shaba’an 14, 1422

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RIYADH, Oct 31: Saudi Arabia, Washington’s main Gulf ally, does not back US-led strikes on Afghanistan, Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz said on Wednesday, ahead of a visit to the kingdom by British Prime Minister Tony Blair aimed at shoring up support for the anti-terror campaign.

“No, the kingdom is not backing (the strikes) in the real term of the word,” the prince said, quoted in Al-Riyadh newspaper.

“The kingdom only has a position” on the anti-terror campaign, he said, without elaborating.

The US-led coalition should work to avoid bombing innocent civilians and concentrate strikes on terrorists, the minister said after arriving back in Riyadh from a meeting of Gulf Arab interior ministers in Bahrain.

But Saudi deputy interior minister Prince Ahmad bin Abdul Aziz did blame Taliban leader Mullah Omar and prime terror suspect Osama bin Laden for the deaths of innocent civilians in Afghanistan.

“We feel the pain for the harm inflicted on people having no relation with the current events in Afghanistan. It is regrettable that wars do not differentiate between people,” he said.

“I believe that Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden are responsible for (the harm) on these innocent people, and God will punish them, because they are the cause for what is happening now.—AFP