Saudi security forces have detained 149 people Al-Qaeda suspects over the past eight months, the Kingdom's interior ministry said on Friday. According to authorities, the detainees were from 19 different cells plotting to carry out attacks on oil installations, government and military infrastructure.

Speaking at a press conference in Riyadh, ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour ibn Turki said 2.24 million riyals ($597,237) were confiscated from the suspects. The funds are believed to be donations raised from the Haj and Umrah pilgrimages in the recent months.

The minister added that the detainees included 124 Saudis and 25 people belonging to other nationalities. One woman was also detained on suspicion.

Some of the planned attacks were in advanced stages, the minister said.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is an offshoot of Al-Qaeda was a union of Yemeni and Saudi insurgents. The group, which began its operations almost a year ago, has already claimed responsibility for the foiled Cargo bomb plots earlier this month. Saudi intelligence apparatus detained 113 people in March this year under suspicion of plotting to carry suicide bomb attacks on government installations in the country.

Al-Qaeda Terrorism