Saudi security forces have thwarted ISIS-linked terrorist operations in the kingdom, the Saudi Interior Ministry said in a statement Monday.
It’s believed the goal of the suspected terror operations was to target citizens, scholars, security forces and vital facilities nationwide.
The complex security investigation lasted several months, the statement said.
The planned operations were to be carried out by a network consisting of three cluster cells linked to the “Daesh” terrorist organization, another name for ISIS, the statement said. The plans also included targeting military and economic facilities in different locations, the Interior Ministry statement added.
A total of 17 people, all suspected members of terror cells, were arrested. One of those arrested was a woman. Fourteen are Saudi citizens, one is a Yemeni national, one is Egyptian and the other is a Palestinian national.
Saudi security forces also seized a large number of sticky bombs, suicide vests, automatic rifles, firearms silencers, ammunition and 600,000 Saudi Riyals (about $160,000 USD), according to the government statement.