Saudi Arabia Claims 149 al Qaeda Arrests

Saudi Arabia’s crackdown on terrorist cells seems to be yielding results. On Friday, Saudi authorities claimed to have arrested 149 al Qaeda militants over the past eight months. They stand accused of plotting to attack government officials and journalists. Though the vast majority of the suspects were Saudi, a few came from Africa and South Asia, with ties to groups in Yemen, Somalia, and Afghanistan. The arrests came amid heightened concern about Saudi Arabia’s neighbor to the south, Yemen, where many terrorists are said to have relocated after being driven out of Pakistan and Afghanistan. It was a Yemeni al Qaeda group that took responsibility for the foiled parcel-bomb plot.