Saudi Arabia Says Four Local Attackers Belonged to Islamic State
Saudi Arabia Says Four Local Attackers Belonged to Islamic State
(Bloomberg) -- Four men killed while trying to attack an internal security facility in Saudi Arabia were citizens affiliated with Islamic State, the kingdom said on Monday.
The men had rented a property where authorities discovered weapons, an explosives workshop and nearly 75,000 kilograms (165,000 pounds) of fertilizer, a potential bombmaking component, according to a statement from the Presidency of State Security. They had tried to storm a facility in Al Zulfi, about 155 miles (250 kilometers) northeast of Riyadh, armed with automatic weapons and explosive belts.
Thirteen Saudi men have been arrested in connection with "plans to execute criminal acts targeting state security," the security agency said in a separate statement.
The kingdom has intensified its counter-terrorism efforts since a string of domestic assaults by Saudi militants in the early 2000s. But while attacks have grown rarer, efforts persist, and two assailants were killed in an incident earlier this month in the country’s east.
To contact the reporter on this story: Vivian Nereim in Riyadh at vnereim@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net, Amy Teibel, Paul Abelsky
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