Saudi security forces discovered and disarmed explosive devices planted in two separate vehicles near Saudi Arabia’s largest oil refinery, Abqaiq, the Saudi newspaper al-Riyadh reported on Wednesday.
The paper said security forces broke into a house in al-Muntaar town on Tuesday where Saudi Arabian Oil Company Aramco employees live, to find two booby-trapped cars with the company’s logo on them.
The daily said several bombs, machine guns and explosive materials were found, adding that the owner of the house was arrested and is currently being interrogated.
As part of the investigation, around 40 suspected terrorists were arrested, the al-Arabiya news broadcaster reported, adding that the arrests were not limited to the oil region in the country’s east.
On February 24, security forces were able to stop another terrorist attack that also targeted the Abqaiq oil refinery. Two terrorists were killed in that attack.
Later the police shot and killed five persons suspected of involvement in the planning that attack.
The al-Qaeda terrorist network of Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden claimed responsibility for the February attack, and announced preparations for further attacks on the Saudi oil industry. — Sapa-dpa