Al Qaeda has carved a deep foothold here with at least three cells of operatives plotting new attacks in the kingdom or North America, American and Saudi government officials said today. “There is a chatter and a high level of chatter both regionally and in other international spots,” Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi ambassador to Washington, said at a lengthy dinner for a group of reporters convened in a sprawling woolen bedouin tent on the grounds of his residence here. The prince said intelligence monitoring had picked up almost as much chatter about an impending attack as was gathered before the three simultaneous bombings in Riyadh last week that officials have linked to Al Qaeda. Both Saudi and American officials said the renewed threat against both countries would result in closer cooperation. “You will not find a complaint from the F.B.I. about what we are doing together now because it’s not just your interests, but our interests to get to the bottom of this,” Prince Bandar said. American and Saudi officials say they believe there are still active Qaeda cells in Saudi Arabia; estimates range from three to five. Full Story
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