Saudi Arabia said on Sunday ithad detained four suspected al Qaeda members and alleged theyhad prior knowledge of last week's suicide bombings in Riyadhwhich killed at least 34 people.
"Those whom we are holding had knowledge of the attacks,"Deputy Interior Minister Ahmed al-Salem told reporters.
He was speaking after Interior Minister Prince Nayef binAbdul-Aziz briefed the media on a Saudi-U.S. investigation intothe attacks, the first major assault on Westerners in SaudiArabia and the most devastating against US interests since theSeptember 11, 2001 attacks against US cities.
Prince Nayef said the four men in custody were among a groupof 19 suspected al Qaeda members whom the Saudi authorities hadidentified earlier this month.
He also said three of the nine suicide bombers who werekilled in the blasts were among this same group. Eight Americanswere killed in Monday's bombings.
Saudi officials had said nine bombers were involved in theattacks on three compounds housing mainly foreigners, which USofficials likened to a Saudi version of September 11.
Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and al Qaeda leaderOsama bin Laden, who is also blamed for these attacks.