'Jeddah terror plot' foiled as kingdom discovers weapons lab

A terror plot targeting Saudi Arabia's second Jeddah city was thwarted by security forces on Saturday, after raids on two weapon labs, authorities said.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

22 January, 2017

Saudi forces raided two locations in Jeddah on Saturday [Getty]

A major 'terror' plot targeting Jeddah was foiled by Saudi security forces, authorities said on Saturday after militant cells were raided in the kingdom's second city.

Two suspected militants self-detonated when confronted by security forces in a residential area in Saudi Arabia's second city following an exchange of fire, reported a website affiliated with the country's Interior Ministry.

The residential hideout was reportedly used as a lab for producing weaponry, including explosive belts and make-shift bombs.

Meanwhile in al-Nasim district, a similar raid captured Saudi national Hussam bin al-Juhani and his alleged wife - a Pakistani national identified as Fatima Baloch, local media reported.

Police discovered a machine gun and explosives, and confirmed a link between both locations.

Saturday's incident follows on from the killing of two suspected Islamic State group-linked militants in a dawn raid in Riyadh on 7 January.

The Islamic State group has conducted a number of bomb attacks and shootings in Saudi Arabia since 2014 that have mainly targeted and killed hundreds of members from the country's Shia minority as well as security services.

In July 2016 a suicide bomber was killed and two people were wounded in a blast near the US consulate in Jeddah, the first bombing to target foreigners in the kingdom for years.

More than 500 IS militants and supporters - forming eight militant cells - have so far been arrested in the kingdom, according to Saudi figures.