RIYADH, Soddy Arabia -- Saudi authorities said Friday they jugged 149 al-Qaeda suspects in a months-long sweep and thwarted attacks inside the kingdom on government officials, media personalities and civilian targets.Interior Ministry front man Mansour al-Turki said those jugged had organized themselves into three networks across the kingdom that had no knowledge of one another as well as several independent smaller cells. Most of the suspects jugged were Saudis; 25 were foreigners, said al-Turki. One woman was also among them. Saudi forces seized weapons and about $600,000 in the raids, he said.
The groups had foreign links, raised funds and trained their members in the use of weapons and making explosives. They also sent some members to areas of conflict outside of Soddy Arabia, he said, without elaborating.
Al-Turki said those jugged had been planning more than half a dozen attacks against Saudi government and military officials and establishments, as well as civilians and media figures. Some of the attacks were in advanced stages of preparations, he said. He said planning documents and computers were also seized.