Even without the body, however, Jubeir said there was no doubt that Johnson, a native of Ocean County, N.J., had been killed. He said Johnson had been identified by a detailed technical analysis of photos of the decapitated corpse posted on the Internet.
The news that Johnson's body had not been recovered contradicted earlier versions of how Saudi officials had tracked down the man believed responsible for Johnson's death, Abdulaziz al-Moqrin, and killed him Friday. Those versions had credited a witness with alerting police after spotting Moqrin and accomplices disposing of Johnson's body.
Jubeir said Moqrin and three accomplices were trapped in a massive law-enforcement net as they drove into the al-Malaz district of Riyadh about 10 p.m., more than two hours after the photos of Johnson's body were posted. Jubeir said their car was spotted at a gas station.
A gun battle broke out, Jubeir said, and Moqrin and his three companions were shot dead. One Saudi security officer was killed and two were injured in the street fighting, which Jubeir said lasted about two hours.
The Interior Ministry said 12 al-Qaeda suspects also were arrested in a sweep of the capital during the night.
"They followed leads, they followed tips," Jubeir said of the police operation. "They would set up roadblocks and move roadblocks to keep the element of surprise, and the terrorists fell into it."
Jubeir said that Moqrin's body was identified by a number of people who knew him, but that DNA tests would be performed to confirm his identity.
U.S. and Saudi officials hailed Moqrin's killing as a major blow to the al-Qaeda network in Saudi Arabia. Moqrin, 31, whose career as an Islamist fighter spanned six countries and a dozen years, had assumed the leadership of the Saudi al-Qaeda cell in March. In addition to Johnson's death, Saudi officials blame him for previous killings of two other Americans and for car bombings that killed dozens.
Fearful of attacks
