Terror Suspects Arrested in Hail

JEDDAH, 17 August 2004 — Security forces have arrested a group of suspected terrorists in the northern province of Hail, Al-Jazirah newspaper reported yesterday.

The gunmen, who were constantly moving between the regions of Hail and Tabuk, were detained when a security force burst into their hideout in Al-Muntazah district in the eastern sector of Hail.

The suspects surrendered without resistance, the newspaper said. The authorities have launched a wide-scale campaign against terrorists suspected of a spate of recent bombings and attacks in the Kingdom.

The government had given armed radicals a grace period to give themselves up or be hunted down without mercy. However, only a small number of suspected militants turned themselves in to the authorities.