Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministy said its forces had uncovered an Islamic State group-linked terrorist network that was involved in past attacks in the kingdom and was planning future attacks against civilians, security personnel and government sites.
Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki said in a press conference the Saudi-based terror network was comprised of three cells. Seventeen suspects, among them one Saudi woman, were arrested in the sweep. Eleven are Saudi citizens, in addition to three Yemenis, two Egyptians and one Palestinian.
Al-Turki said the network was involved in preparing suicide vests and improvised explosives, and providing logistics, cover, funding, arms and transportation for terrorist operations inside the kingdom. The network also communicated “with leaders abroad in all their activities,” he said.
The kingdom’s interior ministry said the security sweep also thwarted four terrorist attacks, including an attempt to attach a car bomb to the vehicle of a Defense Ministry official, a plan to attack general security trainees by placing an explosive device at the gate of their facility. The sweep also intercepted the delivery of two suicide vests and arrested a Saudi suspect planning to carry out a suicide bombing in al- Ahsa province.
