Two arrested in Saudi Arabia over suicide bomb plot

Riyadh - The man, named Yasser Mohammad Al Brazy, had planted several explosive devices around his home in the Al Fayhaa neighbourhood in the Saudi capital.

Saudi Arabian security forces arrested two foreign citizens in a raid on an illegal explosives factory at a Riyadh home, the interior ministry said, according to state news agency SPA.
One of those arrested was a Syrian man, Yaser Mohammed Al Barrazi, who the interior ministry said was preparing to carry out attacks. The other was a Filipino woman, who the statement described as the man's "captive".
Barrazi is also accused of having a second house in Riyadh which he ran as a safe house for militants on the run.
The man had planted several explosive devices around his home and it is believed he was intending for security forces to enter his home, before setting off the bombs, Al Arabiya News reported.
The Filipina was named by the official Saudi Press Agency as Lady Gioi Aban Bali Nang and was said to have gone missing from her employer 15 months ago. Barrazi is believed to have forced the woman to live with him for one year and reports said that he was believed to have forced her to convert to Islam.
She was said to be wearing a suicide vest at the time of her arrest. It took security forces 12 hours to dismantle the explosive devices and evacuate the premises.
The ministry did not provide details about the suspects' affiliation, but said they were part of a "deviant group". The word used to describe the woman is the same word used in Arabic to refer to sex slaves taken by Daesh fighters.
Asked on state television whether Barrazi was suspected of links to the Daesh, the spokesman said authorities "did not yet have sufficient evidence to make any direct connection with this terrorist group."
Two explosive belts and bomb-making equipment were found in the raid, in the Al Fayhaa district of Riyadh. Another location, thought to be a staging post for suicide bombers in the Al Jazirah district, was also raided, but nothing was found there.
The raids were the second major security operation in the capital in the past month. Security forces captured two militants and seized weapons and an explosive vest in raids on September 15.
Saudi Arabia has grappled with militancy linked to Daesh this year, and has arrested hundreds of alleged sympathisers.
Earlier this week, the ministry announced that it had intercepted a Daesh cell during four simultaneous operations in Riyadh and Dammam city.

• Saudi Arabia
• MENA