JEDDAH, 5 November 2003 — Saudi security forces have arrested six Al-Qaeda suspects and killed two others in the Makkah region. They were apparently planning to carry out terror attacks on pilgrims in Makkah, according to Interior Minister Prince Naif.

“They want to turn the whole country into a place of terror, including the most holy city,” he said referring to Monday’s shootout in Al-Sharaie, 30 km east of the Grand Mosque. A policeman was also injured in the gunbattle.

Prince Naif said that during Monday’s clash, police arrested six militants linked to Al-Qaeda. “Police arrested four of the militants and two others handed themselves over. One of the four was wounded,” Al-Riyadh Arabic newspaper quoted him as saying.

Asked if the attacks had been aimed at buildings, crowded areas and pilgrims, the minister said: “This is exactly what I mean. In Makkah there are only Muslims from the Kingdom and abroad. There are no other people except Muslims... Certainly (they wanted to target) buildings, installations and people. All the seized weapons indicate such a plan,” he added.

“They targeted the holy month of Ramadan... when the Saudi and non-Saudi faithful gather” in Makkah to perform Umrah, he said.

The minister said the Saudi authorities had taken seriously warnings last week by the United States, Britain and Australia of possible terror attacks in the Kingdom.

“We take them seriously... but we also want to obtain precise information which can help us,” in the fight against terror, he said.

Security forces found a cache of arms in the cars left by militants after Monday’s clash. They included Kalashnikov assault rifles, pistols, hand grenades, rocket-propelled grenades and barrels with explosives, as well as passports and ID cards.

According to a report carried by Okaz newspaper, security officers found an explosives factory following Monday’s raid on a house in the Al-Sharaie district.

The paper identified the arrested terrorists as four Saudis, a Nigerian and a Pakistani. The paper also said that police had arrested two others, from Mali and Egypt.