October 7, 2003
Photo: Saudi Arabian King Fahd photographed during an audience for German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh on Sunday, Oct. 5, 2003. Saudi Arabia is the second stop of a four day trip of Schroeder to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
The United States has issued a terrorism alert to Americans in Saudi Arabia.
U.S. officials said the interrogation of Al Qaida insurgents by Saudi security agents has uncovered plans to attack American or Western interests in the kingdom. They said Americans were being tracked in Saudi Arabia and targets designated.
On Monday, the U.S. embassy in Riyad called on Americans in the kingdom to increase their vigilance. The embassy said "known terrorist operatives" have been monitoring the movements of Americans and other Westerners in Saudi Arabia in what could mark preparations for an attack.
Saudi Arabia has arrested nearly 300 suspected Al Qaida insurgents since the May 12 suicide bombings at Western compounds in Riyad, Middle East Newsline reported. Last week, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal said the kingdom has arrested more than 500 Islamic insurgency suspects since the Al Qaida strikes on New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001.
"Recent information has come to the embassy's attention that known terrorist operatives in Saudi Arabia have reference material identifying popular trails and campsites in Saudi Arabia often used by Westerners," the U.S. embassy said in an advisory. "It is unknown if this information is linked to any ongoing operational planning by these terrorists."
Officials said the warning was the result of meetings between FBI agents and their Saudi counterparts regarding material found in Al Qaida strongholds in Jizan and other areas over the last month. They said the warning stemmed from an assessment that Al Qaida continues to operate in the kingdom despite the capture of at least six operational cells.
On Monday, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder completed talks in the kingdom that focused on the need for security cooperation with Saudi Arabia that officials said could include intelligence exchange, technical assistance and joint investigations. Schroeder said Bonn and Riyad want to launch a range of activities meant to combat Islamic insurgency groups such as Al Qaida.
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/breaking_7.html