Saudi authorities have detained 44 terror suspects linked to last month’s fatal Riyadh bombings and other suspected terrorist cells in the country, Interior Minister Prince Nayef said today.

Five Islamic militants killed in a shoot-out with Saudi police in the holy city of Mecca were linked to Osama bin Laden and the Riyadh suicide bombings, officials said today.

Saudi troops and security agents fought a gun battle with terror suspects in the holy city of Mecca during which at least 10 people were killed, reports said today.

Iran was quick to deny a report today that it was holding a top al-Qaida official, but it acknowledged it had not yet identified all the members of Osama bin Laden’s terror group it has in custody.

A number of militants believed to be linked to the Riyadh bombings have been arrested in Saudi Arabia, Interior Minister Prince Nayef said.

THREE al-Qaida suspects arrested in Saudi Arabia this week planned to hijack a plane from the southwestern port city of Jiddah, Saudi security officials said, in what appeared to be a plot for a suicide attack.

Saudi and US officials say Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida group may launch fresh terror attacks in the United States or against American interests overseas.

OSAMA BIN LADEN’S al-Qaida terror network was last night being blamed for the synchronised suicide bombings of western compounds in the Saudi Arabian capital that killed up to 91 people.

t is now understood that an Irish woman was in one of the compounds at the time of the attacks in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh.