Swiss arrest 8 suspects in Saudi bombings

updated 6:18 a.m. ET Jan. 9, 2004

BERN, Switzerland - Swiss authorities have arrested eight people in connection with the terror attacks on Westerners in Saudi Arabia last May, the Federal Police said Friday.

Those arrested, all non-Swiss, are being held on suspicion of providing logistical support to a criminal organization, the police said in a statement.

The arrests made Thursday were part of a coordinated nationwide operation that included searches of dwellings in a number of locations across Switzerland from Geneva to Zurich and the interrogation of about 20 people.

"The police action was in the context of terrorism investigations, especially in connection with the May 12 attack in Riyadh," the police statement said.

The statement said 100 federal police officers supported by state police took part in the simultaneous raids.

The string of bombings on Western residential compounds in Riyadh on May 12 has been linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network. Twenty-six people -- including one Swiss citizen -- and nine assailants were killed in the attacks.

The police statement said the arrests resulted from an investigation that was begun soon after the attack.

The suspects are being held in investigative detention. The police declined to give further details because of the continuing investigation.

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