Saudi Arabia has arrested more than 170 suspected al-Qaeda-linked militants, the interior ministry said today.
The ministry, in a statement read on state television, also said police seized weapons and more than 20 million riyals ($5.33 million) in cash, from what Al Arabiya television said were seven armed militant cells.
"Some had begun training on the use of weapons, and some were sent to other countries to study aviation in preparation to use them to carry out terrorist operations inside the kingdom," the statement said.
"One of their main targets was to carry out suicide attacks against public figures and oil installations and to target military bases inside and outside [the country]," it added.
It said the suspects, mostly Saudis, had been "influenced by the deviant ideology", a reference frequently used by Saudi officials to refer to al-Qaeda.
The television showed agents digging in desert areas and searching inside buildings and seizing weapons, including rocket propelled grenades, computers and stacks of Saudi riyals.
Islamic militants swearing allegiance to al-Qaeda began a violent campaign to topple the US-allied Saudi monarchy in 2003, carrying out suicide bomb attacks on foreigners and government installations, including the oil industry.
Militant Islamists have said they want to drive "infidel" Westerners out of Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam and home to its holiest sites.