208 Nabbed in Saudi Terror Raids

Hundreds arrested, oil attack foiled
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 29, 2007 4:52 AM CST
208 Nabbed in Saudi Terror Raids
Saudi police stand guard Feb. 7, 2007, outside the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, as an unidentified Arab man wearing a red-and-white headscarf looks on. Police in Saudi Arabia have arrested 208 militants - some of whom planned to assassinate moderate clerics. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)   (Associated Press)

Saudi Arabian security forces have arrested 208 suspected al-Qaeda militants reportedly plotting an attack on a major oil field, the BBC reports. Those busted included missile experts, assassination squads—and a 16-person "media cell" bent on promoting extremist ideology. The money men behind the militants were also nabbed.

Saudi police said the arrests have taken place over weeks but could only now be announced. Extremists obeying fellow Saudi Osama bin Laden's call to arms have plagued the country with violence for years. A previous sweep of terror suspects in April rounded up another 172 militants—some of whom had been training as pilots. (More Saudi Arabia stories.)

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