“We have for some time been in the process of preparing major operations that will weaken the crusaders’ bases in the Arabian Gulf,” said the Al Qaeda Organisation in the Gulf.

“We will cleanse the Arabian Gulf of the presence of crusaders and of their bases, which are scattered around the cradle of Islam. We promise our leader, Osama bin Laden, to continue on the same road. Your soldiers are preparing something in which you will rejoice.”

The statement was carried in the movement’s online magazine, Sawt al-Jihad (the Voice of Jihad).

Al Qaeda has been responsible for a wave of violence that has shaken the oil-rich Saudi kingdom since May 2003.

At least 90 civilians, 55 members of the security services and 136 militants have been killed in Saudi Arabia since then, according to official figures.