Militants and weapons cache seized by Saudi police
Saudi police arrested at least 11 suspected militants and seized a large weapons cache in the south of the kingdom, reports said today.
A force of more than 200 security agents used tear gas and explosives on Friday to blast into a two-storey building where the Saudi and Bangladeshi suspects were hiding in Karbos village, near the Yemeni border in Jazan province.
The security forces found 93 bazooka rockets, more than 50 hand grenades, a number of machine guns, highly explosive chemicals, detonators and three security uniforms.
They also found “deviant” religious books and bodybuilding and sports equipment, one newspaper quoted security sources as saying.
Saudi Arabia has often complained about weapons smuggling from Yemen, a tribal country where illegal weapons trading is rampant and crackdowns have had limited success.
The issue has grown more significant amid fears of terrorist attacks, and the two countries signed an agreement on June to coordinate border surveillance.
Friday’s arrests took place without resistance, reports said.
It was not possible to confirm the exact number of suspects arrested, and Saudi officials had no immediate comment.
The official Saudi news agency did not report the arrests.
The government has launched a heavy crackdown on Islamic militants since May 12 suicide bombings in Riyadh killed 26 people besides the nine attackers. More than 200 suspects have been arrested and more than a dozen killed in a series of high-profile police raids since then.
Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah said on Thursday his kingdom was engaged in a “decisive battle” against violent extremists.
His comments followed warnings by the United States and Britain of new terror threats in the kingdom and the suspension of British Airways flights to the country.
Saudi Arabia has been under pressure to crush networks that include al Qaida, the terror group blamed for the Riyadh bombings and the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Fifteen of the 19 September 11 hijackers were Saudis.
