Saudi threatens arrest of Al-Qaeda message recipients

PHONE CALL: Saudi Arabia has asked anyone who received a voice recording from Al-Zawahri, pictured here in 2005, to inform authorities by March 15 to avoid arrest. (Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia has asked anyone who received a voice recording from Al-Qaeda's deputy leader Ayman Al-Zawahri to inform authorities by March 15 to avoid arrest, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said on Sunday.

The Interior Ministry said last week that 56 men held since December on suspicion of seeking to revive Al-Qaeda cells in the kingdom had planned to use a voice recording of Al-Zawahri saved on a mobile phone to fund raise for the militant group.

"The ministry calls on all those who were contacted concerning this voice message... to inform the authorities," an SPA statement said.

"Legal action will follow for any suspected individuals once this deadline has passed."

Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter and home to Islam's holiest sites, has been the target of attacks by militants linked to Al-Qaeda since 2003.

Al-Qaeda's last major operation in the kingdom was in February 2006 when militants tried to attack the world's largest oil processing plant at Abqaiq.

The Egyptian-born Al-Zawahri, as well as Saudi born Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, are thought to be in hiding in the mountainous border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

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