The Saudi government has arrested 149 Saudis believed to be part of an al Qaeda network plotting poison attacks in the kingdom, a senior Saudi intelligence official told ABCNEWS. The arrests were made over several days, with the last major arrests occurring about a week ago. A Saudi public statement alludes to the uncovering of a terrorist cell, but does not mention the 149 al Qaeda arrests. The government does not plan to make the fact of the arrests public, fearing that confidence inside Saudi Arabia would deteriorate.
| I think my confidence level would increase if somebody told me they'd rounded up 149 krazed killers... |
The al Qaeda network had been planning to initiate a series of major terrorist attacks, primarily in Riyadh, on the occasion of the war in Iraq. Saudi intelligence had a source in the group and the plans were frustrated, but the Saudi government was shocked by the discovery that the group had stockpiled poisons, C-4 explosives, hand grenades and small arms in preparation for their planned attacks. The source indicated that the al Qaeda group had been planning to poison water storage containers at public buildings. Initial interrogations have established links between members of the al Qaeda cells and bazaar merchants from the province of Qasim. Qasim is an area of Saudi Arabia that has traditionally been associated with anti-monarchy sentiment, and businessmen from there have been among the largest contributors to Osama bin Laden.
Things seem to be heating up in the land of Saud. |