RIYADH, 24 October 2005 — Saudi security forces have arrested 13 suspects in a residential area of Riyadh. The men are believed to be members of the Al-Qaeda terror network. One of those arrested is said to be the brother of an Al-Qaeda militant whose name is on the government’s list of the 36 most wanted terrorists.

“The suspects, including a 13-year old boy, were in a building in the Naseem district of Riyadh. The building was used for storing arms,” a source said yesterday. Security forces tracked down a suspect on the Riyadh-Makkah highway near the village of Ruwaida and arrested him. He eventually gave the address of the building where the suspects were arrested.

“This is the first incident in which a group mainly composed of young suspects below 16 years of age have been arrested,” said a report in Al-Watan Arabic daily. The suspects were arrested as part of a nationwide crackdown on terror networks.

On June 28 this year, the Saudi government issued a new list of 36 wanted militants and promised financial rewards of up to SR7 million for those providing information leading to the arrest of militants or help in preventing terrorist attacks.

The Kingdom has also strengthened patrols in border areas which have been used by terrorists as entry or exit points. Within the last six months, Saudi security forces on the Iraq border have arrested 682 intruders and smugglers and prevented 63 others from entering the Kingdom.

From 2001 to August 2005, border guards seized 14.8 million pieces of live ammunition, 16,300 pieces of weaponry and more than 7,000 kilograms of explosives. The security operations on the border have helped in identifying the networks involved in making and supplying explosives to terrorists in the Kingdom and neighboring countries.

The arrests in Riyadh coincided with reports of the release of a number of suspects involved in terrorist operations who had given shelter to terrorists after they repented their wrongdoing, said Abdul Mohsen Al-Obaikan, a member of the Shoura Council and the committee of scholars assigned to hold dialogue with the militants.