Saudis seize 'terrorist missiles'

Thursday, 4 September 2003 12:00 AM

The Saudi authorities today claimed to have intercepted a lorry-load of surface-to-air missiles near the port of Jeddah, according to BBC reports.

The missiles, which had apparently been smuggled in from Yemen, were said to be destined for an unnamed terrorist group.

The discovery of the SAMs took place last month, and highlights the apparent ease with which militants can acquire heavy-duty weapons.

Back in August a British arms dealer was arrested in New Jersey after offering to sell similar missiles to undercover FBI agents, who were pretending to be terrorists.

The seizure in Saudi also follows the suspension of British Airways' flights to the capital, Riyadh, and to Jeddah after reports of an apparent plot to shoot down one of the airline's planes was uncovered.

American citizens were also advised to defer all non-essential travel to Saudi Arabia last month.

The Saudi authorities have been particularly vigilant ever since the suicide bombings back in May, when a car exploded at an expatriate residential complex in Riyadh. 35 people were killed and nearly 100 were injured.

Since then, the police have cracked down on Islamist groups with suspected links to Saudi dissident Osama Bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network.

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