Saudi Arabia arrests 93 Islamic State suspects: state news agency

Those arrested include at least 65 Saudi nationals, the interior ministry said in a statement

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia has arrested 93 people suspected of belonging to the Muslim militant group Islamic State, including at least 65 Saudi nationals, the interior ministry said in a statement carried on the official Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday.

The kingdom and some other Gulf monarchies have taken part in U.S.-led air strikes against the group in Syria.

On 20 April, Saudi Arabia put security forces on alert for a possible militant attack on a shopping mall or energy installation.

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Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour Turki told Reuters, “There was information about a possible act targeting a mall or Aramco installations. We passed this information to the security forces to be on alert.”

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter and key strategic ally of the United States, has been a target of militant groups for years, including al Qaeda and Islamic State.

Read: Is the Saudi connection the main problem?

This month Saudi police announced they had detained a Saudi citizen suspected of shooting dead two police officers and injuring two others in two separate attacks in Riyadh.

“Saudi Arabia is targeted by terrorism. Usually in such situations (conflicts), there are attempts by terrorist groups to take advantage and carry out attacks,” said Turki.