Saudi Arabia arrests 2 on suspicion of planning suicide attacks

Saudi Arabia said Thursday it has arrested two men on suspicion of planning suicide attacks.

One of the men is from Chad, the other from Yemen, the state-run SPA news agency reported. Neither was identified by name.

“They were discussing suicide terrorist acts – but it’s not clear where or when those attacks would take place. We are still investigating,” Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, spokesman for the Saudi Interior Ministry, told CNN.

“We are trying to find out more about what they were discussing with other al Qaeda elements outside the country,” he said.

The news comes just days after the United States issued a worldwide travel alert, closing almost two dozen embassies and consulates in the region Sunday, with many remaining shut for the rest of the week.

Neither the spokesman nor the SPA connected the arrests to that event.

“We have passed this information as soon as we got it to other possible countries that might be targeted – to all the countries who are probable targets or whose interests are probable targets. We informed them all of the information we gathered,” al-Turki said.

The suspects had computers, electronic equipment and cell phones, which they used to communicate – through codes messages and social media – about imminent attacks, SPA reported.

CNN’s Yousuf Basil contributed to this report.