Saudi Arabia nabs 11 al-Qaeda suspects on southern border (Roundup)

Apr 7, 2009, 21:47 GMT

Riyadh - The Saudi Interior Ministry on Tuesday announced the arrests of 11 members of the al-Qaeda terrorist network.

The cell was captured on the kingdom's southern border with Yemen. The group had been carrying several weapons.

The statement said that the detainees, who were hiding near the border, were planning attacks against Saudi security personnel, along with kidnappings and armed robberies to raise money for their terrorist operations.

Saudi television aired shots of the cell's hiding place that contained all of their arms, which included pistols, shotguns, ammunition and explosive belts. The detainees, who were all Saudis, had huge amounts of food and different kinds of cameras in their cache.

In March, the Yemeni Interior Ministry issued a list of 154 most- wanted al-Qaeda suspects that included 85 Saudis.

It was not clear whether Tuesday's detainees were among those on the Yemeni list.

Yemen, the ancestral homeland of fugitive al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, has faced a rising tide of terrorist attacks as militants seek to strengthen their base in the country.

Yemen and Saudi Arabia have swapped dozens of suspects in recent year under a security agreement signed in 2004.

In February, Yemen sent back to Saudi Arabia Mohammed al-Awfi, an al-Qaeda commander, after he turned himself in to Yemeni authorities.