9 Americans held for terrorism in Saudi Arabia

Saudi authorities arrested nine American citizens among 33 “terror” suspects rounded up over the past days, the Saudi Gazette newspaper reported on Sunday.

Four Americans were arrested on Monday and five others over the past four days, the paper reported citing an unidentified source. The arrests also included 14 Saudis, three Yemenis, two Syrians, an Indonesian, a Filipino, an Emirati, a Kazakhstan national and a Palestinian, the paper said.

It did not say if any of the “terror suspects” was linked to ISIS, which has claimed several deadly attacks against security and Shia in the kingdom in recent months.

The Saudi Gazette said some 532 ISIS suspects accused of plotting attacks in the kingdom are being questioned ahead of their trial at the criminal court in Riyadh.

They are members of six cells arrested in “pre-emptive” raids across the kingdom and include a Saudi woman and a Filipina, the paper said.

The majority of the arrested terrorist suspects are Saudis but they also include Egyptians, Yemenis, Jordanians, Algerians, Chadians, Nigerians and other persons belonging to unidentified nationalities. They include four experts in manufacturing explosives and preparing booby-trapped cars.