Saudi links 19 sought to al Qaeda

Saudi Arabia has linked 19 men wanted on terrorism charges to the al Qaeda group and offered a reward of up to 300,000 riyals ($80,000) for information leading to their capture.

Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz told the al-Riyadh newspaper in remarks published yesterday that the group, on the run after a shoot-out with security forces in the capital Riyadh on Tuesday, was related to al Qaeda.

"Yes... but in order to be 100 per cent sure, we must arrest them and verify this," Prince Nayef said, when asked if the men were connected to al Qaeda.

Prince Nayef said 200,000 to 300,000 riyals would be awarded to anyone with information leading to an arrest, plus 40,000 to 50,000 riyals if the information helped the investigation, the paper said yesterday.

Saudi police said on Wednesday they were hunting 17 Saudis, one Yemeni and one Iraqi with Canadian and Kuwaiti passports to face terrorism charges after the shootout.

Saudi television showed a large cache of arms and explosives on Wednesday, apparently seized from the men's hideout in the capital.

Al-Riyadh quoted the prince as saying security had been tightened at Saudi borders to prevent the men from fleeing the country, and said he urged them to give themselves up.

"If they hand themselves over it would help to lighten the punishment," he said.

Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was born in Saudi Arabia, and 15 of the 19 suspected suicide hijackers in the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States were Saudis.

Bin Laden has many followers and sympathisers in the kingdom, where anti-American sentiment is running high after the U.S.-led war on Iraq and because of U.S. support for Israel.

Saudi Arabia, both a key U.S. ally and the birthplace of Islam, has witnessed a spate of attacks against Westerners. Last week a gunman, believed to be a Saudi in naval uniform, shot and wounded a U.S. civilian working at a naval base in the kingdom.