British Airways has suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia today after the British government said it had credible evidence of a security threat in the kingdom.
The announcement followed two clashes in three days in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, between police and Islamic militants that began with a shootout on Sunday and continued with a full-blown gun battle yesterday that left at least five dead.
A senior Saudi official in Washington has said 10 gunmen arrested after Sunday's clash were "another major cell that were targeting a British target".
BA, the only British carrier that flies to the kingdom, said it had decided to suspend its flights following consultations with the British government.
Other European carriers said they had no plans to stop Saudi flights. When a similar warning of a threat to British aircraft in Kenya was issued in May this year, BA was the only major airline to suspend flights, which resumed in July.
As the world's top oil supplier, Saudi Arabia is vital to the world economy and the spate of bombings and bloody clashes there has raised concerns over world fuel supplies.
The bombing of a Western compound in Riyadh in May, in which 35 people died, triggered a crackdown by Saudi authorities on Islamic militants. Since then, at least 16 suspects and 11 police have been killed in a series of clashes. Britain and the United States have warned against non-essential travel to the kingdom.
BA suspended flights to Kenya between May 15th and July 2nd this year after the British government warned it had intelligence that Islamic militants there might target British planes. Militants in Kenya tried to shoot down an Israeli airliner with a missile last November.