Saudi suspects accused of plotting to hijack plane

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.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the three men arrested on Monday in Jiddah were Moroccans but offered few other details. Nawaf Obaid, a private Saudi oil security analyst with close contacts to the Saudi government, said the three were part of a larger cell that was “in the process of carrying out suicide attacks against landmarks in the kingdom”.

Saudi security officials said the three suspects intended to hijack a Sudan-bound flight, but did not say if there was any plot to use the plane as a missile.