At least 172 suspects have been arrested in various parts of the Kingdom and seven armed militant cells dismantled, the Interior Ministry announced yesterday. Some of the arrested are foreigners. “Some (of the suspects) had begun training in the use of weapons, and some were sent abroad to study aviation in order to carry out terrorist operations inside the Kingdom,” a ministry statement said. “One of their main targets was to carry out suicide attacks against public figures and oil installations and to target military bases inside and outside (of the country).”Government officials did not say when or where these arrests were made, citing security concerns and ongoing investigations in the fight against militant extremism in the Kingdom. Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour Al-Turki said the government believed these cells were working independently and did not fall under one organization. Nationalities of the foreigners arrested will not be revealed until the countries of their origins are notified, he added.
Saudi TV yesterday showed undated footage of agents digging in desert areas and inside buildings bringing out weapons wrapped in plastic sheeting, including grenade launchers, plastic explosives, ammunition cartridges, handguns and rifles. Computers and stacks of Saudi riyals were also seized. Security investigators were shown breaking tiled floors with hammers uncovering pipes that contained weapons. In one scene, an official upends a plastic pipe and bullets and little packets of plastic explosives spill out.
