FALEH AL DHAHRI

At the end of the 1st of Muharram - or November 20th, 1979 - General Faleh Al Dhahri heard that "something was happening in Mecca" for the first time. The next day he accompanied a unit of M113 armoured personnel carriers on their 1000km flight to the Holy City. Soon, Minister of Interior Prince Nayef nominated him the commanding officer of the entire military operation. Wounded by a bullet fired by one of Juhayman's snipers during a reconnaissance mission, Gen. Al Dhahri finally overcame Juhayman and his group. He never met the French GIGN team.