The main suspect for the May bombings in Riyadh has been taken into custody in Saudi Arabia, US and Saudi officials say.
Saudi officials said the suspect, Ali Abdulrachman Saeed al-Faqa'asi Al-Ghamdi, also known as Abu Bakr al-Azdi, a senior Saudi-based al-Qaeda operative, surrendered to the Saudi assistant minister of interior for security affairs.
But the US official said the man was "captured."
"This is a major arrest and a huge victory in the war against terrorism," Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi ambassador to the United States, said.
Car bombs on May 12th ripped apart buildings and homes in three compounds in Riyahd inhabited by Americans and other Westerners, killing 35 people, including eight Americans.
Stung by US criticism his government was not doing enough to control the extremists, Crown Prince Abdullah, the kingdom's de facto ruler, promised to make the suicide bombers pay and allowed American FBI and CIA agents to join the hunt.
The US teams are believed to be still operating in Saudi Arabia but their role in al-Gamdi's seizure was unclear.
More than 40 suspected "terrorists" have been arrested in the kingdom since the May 12th Riyadh bombings, Saudi officials say.