Saudi issues warrants for Al Qaeda suspects

Saudi Arabia is issuing global arrest warrants for 47 suspected Al Qaeda militants who tried to build cells in the Kingdom.

The militants are possibly hiding in Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan or Iraq, Chinese news agency Xinhua reported quoting a Saudi spokesman.

Mansour Al-Turki, Saudi Interior Ministry Spokesman, said, "One of their main goals is really to establish terrorist cells inside the kingdom to recruit Saudis and have them actually to be trained somewhere and to carry out whatever they ask them to." Some of the 47 militants hold senior functions inside Al Qaeda, the Interior Minister had said.

Saudi Arabia had in November arrested 149 militants suspected of running cells in the country. They also sent militants to training camps in Yemen and Somalia.

The ministry says that some of the 47 had connections with those arrested previously. The average age of the wanted men is 26.

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