3 Filipinos in Saudi anti-terror roundup

The Department of Foreign Affairs said it was verifying reports that three Filipinos were among over 40 suspected terrorists arrested by Saudi Arabian authorities.

A Saudi Arabia newspaper, Arab News, had earlier reported that at least two Filipinos were among those arrested in a week-long antiterrorism sweep last month. Five Syrians, four Yemenis, a Sudanese and 31 Saudi nationals were also reported arrested.

The anti-terrorism operations carried out by special authorities of the Saudi government from Dec. 23 to 31 resulted in the arrest of 44 terror suspects, the newspaper report said.

“We are still verifying if the report is true. The initial feedback from the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh was that there was no information from the Saudi government about this.” Charles Jose, spokesperson for the DFA, said in an interview.

The Arab News report said the largest number of arrests were made on the first day of the operation, with 10 Saudi nationals and one Yemeni taken in. Nine suspects, including three Syrians were arrested the following day, and 10 more on the fifth day of the operation.