Saudi authorities have arrested 136 home-grown and foreign Al Qaeda-linked militants, including a potential suicide bomber, on charges of plotting kidnappings and attacks on business establishments in the oil-rich kingdom.
The arrests, made over the last three months, included 115 Saudis and 21 foreigners, the Interior Ministry said in Dubai in a statement carried by state-run Saudi Press Agency.
"Through these security operations, weapons, money of different currencies, documents, communications equipment, computers and electronic media was confiscated that reveals their thinking and exposes their criminal aims," the statement said.
The suspects, who have not been identified, were picked up from Riyadh, Damman, Mecca, Medina, Qasim Hail and Al-Jouf for allegedly 'recruiting people to travel to troubled areas and smuggling in people who were trained abroad' to carry out attacks in the oil-rich Kingdom.
"It appeared that a 31-member cell was awaiting orders to carry out crimes such as kidnapping innocent people, demanding ransom and killing some of them. They also planned to carry out attacks on businesses and banks," the statement said, adding that some of them had even penned down wills to be opened after fidayeen attacks.
Militant activities in Saudi Arabia, mainly targeting the Saudi royal family, came to fore in 2003 following attacks on Western housing compounds.
The Al Arabiya television had earlier said 139 people were detained but the Interior Ministry put the figure at 136. The Al-Qaeda suspects had apparently formed a series of 'financial, religious and information committees' to carry out unspecified plans inside the country, it said.
