Saudi arabia

Al-Qaida operative arrested

Authorities arrested one of the alleged al-Qaida masterminds in last month’s terrorist bombings in Riyadh in a major blow to Osama bin Laden’s terrorist organization in the conservative desert kingdom of his birth.

Saudi and U.S. officials said Ali Abd al-Rahman al-Faqasi al-Ghamdi, 29, was in custody. State-run Radio Riyadh quoted the Interior Ministry as saying the terror suspect surrendered to Saudi police.

In the May 12 assault, gunmen and suicide bombers attacked three housing compounds populated by Westerners and other foreigners. Nine attackers and 25 victims were killed.

WASHINGTON

Second-ranking EPA official resigns from position

The second-ranking official at the Environmental Protection Agency submitted her resignation Thursday, a day before Administrator Christie Whitman leaves her job to return to New Jersey.

Permanent replacements for EPA’s top jobs could be months away, Whitman said.

Linda Fisher, the deputy administrator, had been seen as a possible successor to Whitman, who took over the agency after serving as New Jersey governor. Fisher told President Bush in her resignation letter that she plans to step down July 11.

Like Whitman, Fisher wrote that she wanted to spend more time with her family. She called it “a rare privilege” to serve in the Bush administration, under Whitman’s leadership.

JERUSALEM

Israel, Palestinians carry out attacks despite cease-fire

Israel troops struck at Hamas early today with an attack near Gaza City that left three militants dead, Palestinians said, as Palestinian factions worked to wrap up details of a three-month halt to violence against Israel.

The Gaza raid came after a day of bloodshed with Palestinian militants dispatching bombers, roadside snipers and a teenage gunman to hit Israeli targets.

Early today, Israeli soldiers entered the village of Mujarkha, apparently looking for Adnan al-Houl, a local Hamas leader. In an exchange of fire, the three Hamas activists were killed and a house was destroyed, Palestinian residents said. The Hamas leader apparently survived.

Israeli military sources would say only that an operation was in progress in the area, and one Israeli soldier was slightly wounded.