Saudi Arabia arrests 172 in alleged terrorist attack plot

Saudi authorities said Friday they had arrested more than 170 people, including some who had taken pilot training, in connection with a vast plot to attack oil fields and prominent national figures.

The Bush administration welcomed the arrests, which a government spokesman described as showing Saudi Arabia’s continued efforts “to be a good partner with us in the war on terror.”

In a meeting with reporters in Washington, D.C., State Department spokesman Tom Casey said the arrests demonstrated “strength and commitment” on the part of Saudis.

A Saudi Interior Ministry official said security forces had broken up a number of militant cells that had been training for attacks inside and outside the country, according to a statement from the official Saudi Press Agency.

In coordinated raids, security forces arrested 172 suspects, some of whom were said to have received flight training for suicide attacks against “public figures, oil installations and refineries and military bases inside [the kingdom] and abroad.”

Another alleged plot involved plans to storm a prison in Saudi Arabia. Some of the suspects, including Saudis and foreigners, had trained abroad, according to the government statement.

Security forces rounded up the suspects in seven raids, seizing documents, computers and more than $5.3 million in cash, according to the statement.

The scope of the alleged plot was the biggest in Saudi history. In the past, attackers have struck at such targets as police stations and oil facilities.

Since 2003, Al Qaeda-linked militants have attacked several targets in Saudi Arabia, including the U.S. Consulate in Jidda. The kingdom’s close alliance with the United States is resented by many in the Middle East.

The government has cracked down on Islamic militants with a series of arrests since December. In February, militants killed four French people in Madain Salih, a city in the northwest popular with tourists.

State TV aired footage from the anti-terrorist sweeps showing police officers searching a desert area and recovering weapons and money.