Saudi Arabia rejects US request to use its air bases

A Saudi Arabian officials says his country has rejected a US request to use its air bases for an offensive against terrorism, apparently due to concern about possible strikes on a fellow Arab state.

President George W Bush's administration blames a pan-Arab network of Islamic militants led by exiled Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden for the attacks on New York and Washington on September 11 that left more than 6,000 people missing or dead.