In August, an al Qaeda suicide bomber tried to kill the Saudi prince in charge of the kingdom's anti-terrorism campaign, the first attack on a member of the royal family since the group began a wave of violence in the country six years ago.
Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter and a key U.S. ally in the Middle East, was forced to confront its own role in rising militancy at home and abroad when its nationals turned out to be behind the September 11 attacks.
Several countries in the region have been attacked by al Qaeda militants trying to destabilize Western-allied governments.
(Reporting by Inal Ersan, editing by Tim Pearce)
Copyright 2009 Reuters News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.