Police in Saudi Arabia have arrested a number of suspected Islamic militants and seized large caches of weapons including what appear to suicide bombersâ belts. They made the arrests in the desert kingdomâs capital, Riyadh, and the port of Jeddah, the government reported. State TV showed off plastic explosives, home-made pipe bombs and a large number of assault rifles and ammunition. Mondayâs announcement did not specify how many arrests were made.
Followup, from Pak Daily Times
The latest terror suspects arrested by security forces were preparing to carry out suicide bombings across Saudi Arabia, evidenced by the amounts of explosives found in their possession, a senior Saudi security official said on Tuesday. The suspects whose arrest was announced late on Monday were trained in Afghanistan by Osama bin Ladenâs Al Qaeda terror network, said the official. âFor the first time, security forces seized explosives belts, a clear indication that the suspects were bracing to carry out suicide attacks along the lines of the May 12 triple bombings against residential compounds that left 35 people dead in Riyadh,â he said.
| Yeah. I'd say that was a pretty likely sign... |
The arrest of an unspecified number of âwantedâ militants was announced in an interior ministry statement which detailed the seizure of weapons, high explosives and tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition, in addition to âa guidebook on how to carry out assassinationsâ, in six regions of the vast kingdom. Besides the capital, these included the Red Sea Port city of Jeddah, the Muslim holy city of Mecca, the al-Majmaa province 180km north of Riyadh, Shaqra province 200km west of the capital, and the al-Bkairiyeh province in the Qassim region, 400km north of Riyadh.
| By the way, how many bad guys did they pick up? |
The security sweep, whose exact dates were not given, produced among other items 19 kilogrammes of highly explosive materials and âexplosives belts used for suicide operations with 16 vests designed to carry weapons and explosivesâ, the statement added. The state-run Saudi television aired the footage of what the statement said was a âfiberglass tank used by the terrorists to store weapons that was buried undergroundâ in the Mecca region. The tank held pipes used to mix explosives, home-made bombs, Kalashnikov rifles and ammunition, according to the statement, which said a total of 186 Kalashnikovs were seized. The explosive materials found in Qassim were hidden âin a well in the desertâ, it said. âThe manner in which the bomb-making materials were hidden suggests we are up against professional terrorists,â the security official said.
| As opposed to wannabe terrorists... |
âBut security forces have since May succeeded in breaking up most terror cells. Only a small number of suspects â one or two cells â remain at large, and authorities are determined to track them down. We hope that will come soon,â Polyanna he added. As in the interior ministry statement, which spoke of the arrest of âsomeâ militants and the ongoing hunt for âsomeâ fugitives, the official declined to give figures, citing âsecurityâ considerations. âWe are still facing the threat of bombings of the May 12 variety,â he said. |