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Saudis hold suspected militants
Police in Saudi Arabia have arrested a number of suspected Islamic militants and seized weapons including what appear to suicide bombers' belts.
They made the arrests in the desert kingdom's 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.
The deeply conservative kingdom has been pursuing militants since a wave of attacks on Westerners in Riyadh in May.
Those suicide bombings left 35 people dead, including the nine bombers.
Monday's announcement did not specify how many arrests were made.
"Certain people wanted in the hunt [for terror suspects] have been caught and a manhunt has been launched to arrest those still on the run," a spokesman for the interior ministry told the state news agency SPA.
The BBC's security correspondent, Frank Gardner, says the Saudi authorities have been making a major effort to hunt down militants this year.
Seemingly endless checkpoints and rigorous searches typify the clampdown, our correspondent says, noting that heavy-handed police tactics often end in bloody gunfights.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3209110.stm
Police in Saudi Arabia have arrested a number of suspected Islamic militants and seized weapons including what appear to suicide bombers' belts.
They made the arrests in the desert kingdom's 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.
The deeply conservative kingdom has been pursuing militants since a wave of attacks on Westerners in Riyadh in May.
Those suicide bombings left 35 people dead, including the nine bombers.
Monday's announcement did not specify how many arrests were made.
"Certain people wanted in the hunt [for terror suspects] have been caught and a manhunt has been launched to arrest those still on the run," a spokesman for the interior ministry told the state news agency SPA.
The BBC's security correspondent, Frank Gardner, says the Saudi authorities have been making a major effort to hunt down militants this year.
Seemingly endless checkpoints and rigorous searches typify the clampdown, our correspondent says, noting that heavy-handed police tactics often end in bloody gunfights.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3209110.stm
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