Saudi Arabia detains dozens of ‘al-Qaeda militants’

BBCNEWS… More than 100 suspected militants linked to al-Qaeda have been arrested in Saudi Arabia, officials have said

The interior ministry said 58 Saudis and 55 foreigners in three independent groups were planning to target oil facilities and security forces.

The groups had links to an al-Qaeda affiliate based in neighbouring Yemen, an interior ministry spokesman said.

Analysts say the group, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, has exploited instability in Yemen to set up bases.

A large group of 101 suspects, described as a network, composed of 47 Saudis and others from Yemen, Somalia, Eritrea and Bangladesh was “specialised in targeting security personnel,” interior ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki said.

Two other groups totalling 12 suspects, described as terrorist cells, were also arrested, he said.

Weapons, cameras, documents and computers were seized with the suspects.

“The network and the two cells were targeting the oil facilities in the Eastern Province and they had plans that were about to be implemented,” Mansour al-Turki said.

“Each cell did not know about the other or their plans,” he added.

‘Yemen link’

There was no news on when the arrests were made or on which oil installations were being targeted and whether they were foreign- or Saudi-owned and operated.

Spokesman Mansour al-Turki said the investigation so far revealed “correspondence between this organisation and al-Qaeda’s organisation in Yemen”.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was formed in January 2009 by a merger between two regional offshoots of the Islamist militant network in neighbouring Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

Led by a former aide to Osama Bin Laden, the group has vowed to attack oil facilities, foreigners and security forces as it seeks to topple the Saudi monarchy and Yemeni government, and establish an Islamic caliphate.

In 2003, suicide bombers suspected of having links with al-Qaeda killed 35 people in the capital, Riyadh. They included a number of foreigners.

Saudi Arabian security forces have arrested a number of militant suspects since then.

In 2007, officials said 172 terror suspects had been arrested; and in August 2009 44 suspects with alleged links to al-Qaeda were detained.

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