Potential plan to bomb World Cup match thwarted by Saudi authorities

Saudi Interior Ministry revealed on Sunday that the authorities had foiled a plan to bomb a football stadium during World Cup qualifying match which is scheduled to take place in 2018. The Ministry also revealed that two ‘terrorist’ cells linked to Islamic State (IS) had also been dismantled by the authorities, saving the country from much havoc.

According to the details revealed in a statement by the Interior Ministry, four suspects from each cell had been arrested and they are now being interrogated for more information.

The arrested terrorists revealed that one of the cells had planned to park a bomb-laden car outside Al-Jawhara stadium in the city of Jeddah during October 11 World Cup 2018 qualifying football match between the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The members of that cell included two Pakistanis, a Syrian and a Sudanese.

The other cell had plans to attack security forces and its members belonged to Shaqra, which is a northwestern city close to Riyadh. All the members of this group are Saudis and they reportedly received all the directions from an IS leader in Syria.

In addition to these terrorists, six other Saudis were detained and questioned over their alleged links to the cell.

Another statement by the Interior Ministry revealed the names of nine suspects- eight Saudis and a Bahraini- wanted for their alleged involvement in ‘terrorist’ acts carried out in the eastern provinces of Qatif and Dammam.

The ministry urged the suspects to surrender themselves and also offered rewards for those who could provide information leading to their arrests.

IS has carried out a number of bombings and shootings in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since 2014.

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Posted by fatimaarshad on Oct 31 2016. Filed under Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.