RUMHIYAH, 20 April 2004 — Saudi security forces yesterday defused another two truck bombs apparently kept ready for use in terror attacks in Riyadh, a security source said.

The discovery of the two vehicles, which were found at Shuaib Juraidal in Rumhiyah village, 90 km east of Riyadh, brought to five the number of car bombs seized in the Kingdom in the past week.

After the two cars were found, security forces backed by helicopters combed the region searching for armed men who managed to flee in a Jeep, residents of the area told Arab News.

An Interior Ministry official announced Sunday the arrest of eight suspects linked to recent deadly clashes with security forces and car bombs. The Saudi Press Agency quoted the official as giving details of three seized vehicles packed with thousands of kilograms of explosives, including one they had been searching for since February.

Security forces cordoned off Rumhiyah yesterday morning and people have since been prevented from entering the area.

Arab News has learned that the explosive found in the two trucks was similar to that found in a booby-trapped GMC van in Riyadh two days ago.

“We saw police towing away the two trucks at 2 p.m. The trucks were covered in plastic and escorted by police patrol cars,” the witnesses said.

They said there was a large presence of security forces and patrol cars. Police have set up several checkpoints.

Earlier residents in the area had become suspicious about the vehicles and reported them to police. According to eyewitnesses, the trucks had been camouflaged with straw. It was reported that the drivers of the two trucks fled in a third vehicle.

Al-Ramah Governor Ibrahim Al-Muammar, who was present in the area, refused to comment on the incident saying the area was not under his jurisdiction.

The Interior Ministry had warned Riyadh residents on Feb. 13 that the car registered to a wanted suspect could be used in an attack.

The ministry official said Sunday the 1991 GMC Suburban had been rigged with 1.3 tons of explosives. The two other cars were packed with a total of 2.8 tons of highly explosive material, the official said.

The discovery of the truck bombs made speculators nervous, sending crude oil futures up on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In overnight trade, Nymex light, sweet May crude futures vaulted to $38.08 a barrel, up 34 cents from Friday’s settlement.

A series of suicide bombings targeting residential compounds killed 52 people in Riyadh in May and November 2003. The attacks were blamed on Al-Qaeda sympathizers.

On April 12, a member of the security forces was killed and a terrorist gunned down during a clash in an eastern neighborhood of Riyadh. The next day, four policemen were killed by machine-gun fire in separate attacks on the road linking Riyadh and Qasim, northwest of the capital, and authorities said they discovered the first two explosives-laden cars. Many suspected terrorists as well as security personnel have been killed in shootouts, particularly in Riyadh, since last year’s suicide bombings.