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Saudi summons those suspected of militant links

03 Dec 2006 15:12:19 GMT
Source: Reuters

RIYADH, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has summoned people with suspected links to militants, warning their names would be put on a wanted list if they do not surrender to authorities, a government spokesman said on Sunday.

Saudi Arabia, fighting a violent campaign by al Qaeda supporters, said on Saturday it had detained 136 suspected militants including a would-be suicide bomber.

"There are people we have identified who have a relationship to the activities of those arrested. We talked to their families to tell them to go to a police station or a Saudi embassy abroad," Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki said. He declined to say how many people were involved.

"If we don't get a response, then yes we'll put their names on a list ... if we get no response soon, before haj," he added, referring to the haj pilgrimage which begins in late December.

Al Qaeda supporters began a campaign to bring down the U.S.-allied Saudi royal family in May 2003 with suicide bombings against Western housing compounds in Riyadh.

The Interior Ministry has released two previous wanted lists. All wanted militants named in the lists who were inside Saudi Arabia are thought to have been killed or captured, while some could be in Iraq or elsewhere.

Officials say more than 136 militants and 150 foreigners and Saudis, including security forces, have since died though the violence has ebbed in the face of tougher security measures.

The authorities in the world's biggest oil exporter have been seizing dozens of al Qaeda members or sympathisers around the country for months, but the latest round up was unusually large.

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Last updated:Sun Dec 3 15:14:45 2006