“Saudi forces detained more than 100 terror suspects, including some who officials say were plotting attacks on energy installations and military sites in the eastern oil-producing hub of the country.

Twelve people in two al-Qaeda cells, all of them Saudis except for one Yemeni, who were arrested were in the early stages of planning strikes in the Eastern Province, the official Saudi Press Agency announced today, citing an Interior Ministry statement.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter and holder of one-fifth of global reserves, faces a threat from al-Qaeda militants based across the border in Yemen. Last August, the group attempted to assassinate a top Saudi internal security official, Prince Muhammad bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz.

“Yemeni Shiite rebels pledged on Tuesday not to attack neighbouring Saudi Arabia, a key condition laid down by the Sanaa government to end its nearly-six-month military campaign against them.

‘As long as no one attacks us, we would not target any party,’ the office of rebel leader Abdul Malak al-Huthi said in a statement posted on the rebels’ website.