Saudi says arrests 28 al-Qaeda militants

Saudi Arabia's interior ministry announced on Sunday the arrest of 28 people, all but one of them Saudi nationals, for planning "criminal acts."

The arrested are all but one Saudi nationals and they were nabbed in the major cities of Mecca, Madina and the capital Riyadh, in addition to an area near the country’s northern borders, reported the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

"The (public) interest requires that further details be withheld for the time being," the ministry of interior’s statement said, without giving any further details.

It was not immediately clear if the arrests were linked to a plot by al-Qaeda to wage an attack during the annual Muslim pilgrimage, or hajj, to Mecca.

On Friday, the interior ministry said security forces in the oil-rich kingdom, the target of Islamist attacks since 2003, had arrested a group of militants linked to al-Qaeda planning "terrorist acts" to disrupt hajj season.

The annual Muslim ritual started last Monday and was wrapped up safely and successfully on Saturday.