Saudi Arabia has arrested a senior militant suspected of involvement in the 2000 bombing of the US warship Colein neighbouring Yemen, a security source said today.
He said the suspect, who he did not name, was one of 12 militants arrested late on Friday when security forces killed local al Qaeda leader Abdulaziz al-Muqrin.
"This man is considered one of the main number twos to Muqrin," the source said.
"He was a senior operator in this cell and he was involved in the bombing of the Cole".
Al Qaeda was blamed for the bombing in 2000 of the U.S. warship Colein Yemen's Aden port, which killed 17 U.S. sailors.
The security source said the arrests and the shootout that killed Muqrin and three other prominent militants had seriously weakened those behind the violence in the kingdom.
"A huge number of the group around Muqrin were taken out last night, either killed or arrested," he said.