Saudi Arabia has arrested at least three suspected al Qaeda members in connection with the deadly triple suicide bombings in the kingdom earlier this month, newspapers reported today.
Al-Watansaid at least three people, including the alleged mastermind of the May 12th blasts on housing compounds in the capital Riyadh that killed 34 people, had been arrested on Tuesday in the Muslim holy city of Medina.
Another newspaper, al-Riyadh, quoted Interior Minister Prince Nayef as saying an arrest had been made yesterday in Medina, in western Saudi Arabia, but he gave no further details.
Okazdaily said five people had been arrested at an Internet cafe in the city for suspected links to the attacks. It reported the alleged mastermind was a Saudi national who was among 19 men wanted by local authorities on terrorism charges following a shoot-out with security forces in Riyadh early this month.
A Riyadh-based Western diplomat said last Thursday that Saudi authorities had arrested four men on suspicion of belonging to al Qaeda.
US intelligence agents are in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam and the world's biggest oil exporter, to assist Saudi authorities in the investigation into the bombings.