Report: Iranian-backed spy ring in Saudi trained by IRGC in Mashhad

Members of an Iranian-backed spy ring currently on trial in Saudi Arabia received training at military sites of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Saudi daily Okaz reported on Monday.

According to the report, the spy ring - made up of Saudi nationals - utilized religious pilgrimages to a Holy Shiite shrine in the Iranian city of Mashhad to be trained at IRGC camps.

One of the spy-ring members was arrested at King Fahad International Airport in Dammam as he was attempting to leave the country.

His confessions to Saudi security authorities revealed that upon arrival at Mashhad airport member of the spy-ring were transported to furnished apartments in the city and were kept indoors for three days.

IRGC officers allegedly blindfolded the men before taking them to the training camps, two hours away from the airport.
The men were given a “special allowance” and were housed in private quarters where they received training on weapons and explosives.

The trainees met convicted terrorist Ahmed al-Mughsil who is currently detained in Saudi Arabia after being involved in the Khobar Towers bombing of 1996 that killed 19 US soldiers and wounded 372 others.

Mughsil supervised their training for two weeks, and asked them to establish a terrorist cell in Saudi Arabia immediately after they returned to the kingdom, the report said.

The members viewed Mughsil as a leader and awaited instructions to carry out bombings and assassinations.
According to Akhbarna website, the investigations showed that the plan - led by Mughsil - included the opening of a tourism agency in Qatif to send young men and women to Iran to train and inflame public opinion against the Saudi Arabia and its security.