国际英语新闻：Saudis: 208 arrested in terrorist plots

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia announced Wednesday that it had arrested 208 suspected terrorists in six cells and thwarted several planned attacks in the kingdom's largest terror sweep to date.

Among the plots, the Interior Ministry said, the capture of eight al-Qaida-linked suspects "pre-empted an imminent attack on an oil installation" in the country's east, which is home to most Saudi petroleum reserves. A ministry statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency said the eight were led by a non-Saudi man, who was among those arrested.

Eighteen other suspects led by a non-Saudi missile expert were arrested for "planning to smuggle eight missiles into the kingdom to carry out terrorist operations," the statement said.

The kingdom, which is the birth place of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, has been waging a heavy crackdown on al-Qaida militants since a 2003 wave of attacks on foreigners here.

The largest previous sweep by Saudi authorities was announced in April. It netted 172 militants, including pilots allegedly trained for oil refinery attacks using civilian planes.

Wednesday's announcement indicated that al-Qaida and other Islamic extremists were still actively attempting to destabilize the monarchy, which holds a quarter of the world's proven oil reserves.

In other arrests, the Interior Ministry said:

． 112 Saudis were taken into custody for links and "coordination with outside circles" to assist in smuggling them to "troubled areas" -- Saudi shorthand for Iraq and Afghanistan -- for training, after which the men would have come back for attacks inside the kingdom.

． 32 Saudis and non-Saudis were arrested for providing financial aid to al-Qaida operations here.

． 22 people were arrested for allegedly supporting al-Qaida and plotting to assassinate the country's religious leaders and security officials.

． 16 men were detained in the holy city of Medina for colluding to issue a publication propagating "misleading ideology" and criminal acts. The group also worked on helping volunteers go fight in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The statement said security authorities seized a "large quantity of (terrorist) material" in the sweep but declined to elaborate, saying an investigation continued and might uncover others linked to the groups.

In February 2006, two suicide bombers attacked the oil facility at Abqaiq on the east coast, killing two security guards and wounding eight foreign workers in an incident later claimed by the Saudi branch of al-Qaida.

In August, Saudi Arabia said it was setting up a 35,000-strong special force to protect its oil facilities due to increasing al-Qaida threats.

In early October, Saudi's top religious leader, Sheik Abdel-Aziz bin Abdullah al-Sheik, issued a religious edict prohibiting sending people to Iraq to take part in the anti-American insurgency there in the name of Islamic jihad, or holy war.

The grand mufti also warned young Saudis not to be misled by foreign elements who want to pursue political ambitions at the expense of religion.

Wednesday's statement from the Interior Ministry urged Saudis who may have gone to fight in Iraq or Afghanistan to give themselves up to security authorities or to any Saudi diplomatic mission outside the kingdom. It promised their cases would be looked into fairly.

The announcement came less than three weeks before Islam's biggest annual event, the Hajj, when more than 2 million Muslim pilgrims travel to Saudi Arabia to visit the holy city of Mecca. Saudi authorities greatly step up security and terror alerts during the gathering.