More than 100 suspected militants linked to al-Qaeda have been arrested in Saudi Arabia.
The interior ministry said 58 Saudis and 55 foreigners in three independent groups were planning to target oil facilities and security forces.
The oil price, currently trading at $80.45 – has not yet registered any reaction, but fears about the security situation in the Kingdom may be enough to spark a price rise shock before trading closes in New York tomorrow.
The BBC has reported that the groups had links to an al-Qaeda affiliate based in neighbouring Yemen, an interior ministry spokesman said.
Analysts say the group, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, has exploited instability in Yemen to set up bases.
A large group of 101 suspects, described as a network, was composed of 47 Saudis and others from Yemen, Somalia, Eritrea and Bangladesh, interior ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki said.
As well as the 113 arrests by security forces, two other groups totalling 12 suspects, described as terrorist cells, were also arrested, he said.
Weapons, cameras, documents and computers were seized with the suspects.
“The network and the two cells were targeting the oil facilities in the Eastern Province and they had plans that were about to be implemented,” Mansour al-Turki said.
The Eastern Province, which borders the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and is joined to Bahrain by a causeway, is home to Al Khobar, a city with a population of over 350,000, many of whom work for Saudi Aramco.
In May 2004, at least 30 people were killed in Khobar when gunmen stormed a residential compound for oil workers.
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