Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki said his forces had broken up three cells of Al-Qaeda militants, with one cell consisting of 101 people, and two smaller cells made up of six men each.
“The large cell comprised 47 Saudis and 51 Yemenis, as well as a Somali, a Bangladeshi and an Eritrean,” he said.
The two smaller groups were made up of 11 Saudis and a Yemeni. He said Al-Qaeda planned to carry out new terrorist attacks inside the Kingdom in October, targeting economic facilities and security officers while Saudi military and security forces were busy confronting Yemeni infiltrators in the south of the country.
The large cell was discovered as a result of an investigation launched after suspected Al-Qaeda militants — two of them dressed as women — tried to infiltrate the country in October with explosives. The two were killed in a shootout at the border and a third was arrested.
Al-Turki identified the two Saudi terrorists killed during the confrontation with security forces in Jazan as Yousuf Muhammad Mubarak Al-Shahri and Raed Abdullah Salim Al-Harbi.
“The two had infiltrated the country through the Yemeni border to carry out terrorist operations,” the spokesman said. Police then arrested seven people who had allegedly helped the two terrorists enter the Kingdom.
“This incident shows that Al-Qaeda was using individuals inside the Kingdom to carry out their operations,” he added.
The foreigners in the cell were said to have entered the country under the cover of seeking work or visiting holy sites in Makkah and Madinah.
