Britain warns of imminent terror attack in Saudi

Britain dramatically raised its warning to travellers yesterday not to go to Saudi Arabia, saying terror attacks were imminent.

"We advise British nationals against all but essential travel to Saudi Arabia. We believe that terrorists may be in the final phases of planning attacks," the new Foreign Office warning said.

The previous warning had simply said that attacks against Westerners were "likely".

The warning followed an admission from Saudi Arabia that it had arrested nearly 600 people in a crackdown on militants since suspected al Qaeda suicide bombers struck Riyadh in May.

The conservative kingdom, birthplace of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, has faced intense pressure to crush al Qaeda cells since the September 11, 2001, hijacked-plane attacks on the United States in which 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis.

It intensified its efforts against the network since the May 12 bombings in Riyadh which killed 35 people, including nine Americans, and analysts say it has sharply stepped up cooperation with Washington.

In the latest crackdown, Saudi Arabia said on Monday it had arrested Islamic militants and seized large amounts of weapons and explosives, including bomb-belts used by suicide bombers.

Saudi Arabia has also tightened up monitoring of charities which have been accused of channelling funds to militant groups worldwide, shutting down some overseas branches of domestic charity groups.

Human rights pressure group Amnesty International accused the Saudi authorities yesterday of arresting without cause 250 people at a peaceful demonstration in Riyadh on October 14.