Saudi Arabia arrests 88 suspects in terror plots in and outside of kingdom

Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that it had arrested 88 people who were tied to terrorist groups and who were close to acting on plans to commit terrorist acts inside and outside the kingdom, media reports say.

The Interior Ministry said the arrests – of 84 Saudis, three Yemenis and one person whose nationality hasn't yet been determined -- followed months of investigation, the reports say.

Of the 88, 59 had previously served prison terms for similar offenses, the BBC quoted an Interior Ministry spokesman as saying.

On Saturday, the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council, meeting in Jeddah, called for regional and international efforts to uproot terror.

The GCC is a political and economic union of six nations: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Saudi King Abdullah said on Saturday that if the Middle East ignores terrorists, "I am sure they will reach Europe in a month and America in another month."

The king called on other countries to join the UN Counter-Terrorism Center, which was set up in 2011 via a grant from the kingdom to respond to new threats, Asharq al-Awsat reported.

And the king also said that so-called jihadists in the region are not practicing true Islam, Asharq al-Awsat reported.

The BBC reported that Saudi Arabia has expressed concern about the rise of Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

Haaretz