Saudi Arabia foils bomb-smuggling attempt

The Saudi Interior Ministry announced that security authorities had arrested a number of individuals found trying to smuggle special detonators and RDX – a highly-explosive compound – into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia via the King Fahd Bridge linking Saudi Arabia to Bahrain.

"An attempt to smuggle the highly-explosive RDX compound – along with special detonators for it – was foiled on Friday morning, while the traffickers were arrested," Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour Turki was quoted as saying by Saudi Arabia’s official press agency (SPA).

"A vehicle crossing the King Fahd Bridge from Bahrain raised the suspicions of Saudi customs personnel," Turki was quoted as saying.

He went on to say that a search of the vehicle had produced 30kg of a pasty compound, 50 detonators and a six-meter fuse.

Turki added that forensics experts had determined that the substance found in the vehicle was the highly-explosive RDX compound.

Meanwhile, Bahrain's Public Security Chief Major-General Tariq Hassan Al Hassan said that within the framework of continuous cooperation and coordination between the security bodies in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, joint efforts are underway to uncover the circumstances of the attempt to smuggle RDX – a highly explosive material, and detonators intended to be used in Saudi Arabia.

The Public Security Chief lauded the competence and high vigilance of the Saudi security bodies for foiling the smuggling attempt and arresting the perpetrators, the official (BNA) news agency reported.

He added that the security bodies in the two brotherly countries are cooperating to sue the parties involved in such a terror act, and uncover its dimensions.