Australia joins western warnings against traveling to Riyadh

Australia yesterday ( Friday ) joined the US and Britain in warning its citizens from traveling to Saudi Arabia because of what it described as terrorist threats for western interests in the kingdom.

The Australian foreign ministry issued a warning urging the Australians in Saudi Arabia to avoid trade centers, hotels and areas of foreigners, residential areas, restaurants, clubs, schools, airports and entertainment festivals in open air areas and tourist areas in Saudi Arabia.

The Australian foreign ministry indicated that there are fears in light of intelligence information against new attacks against western interests in Saudi Arabia.

This came following assertions made by the Saudi minister of the interior Prince Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz that his country has no specific information on plans of attacks against trade planes at King Khaled Bin Abdul Aziz International airport in Riyadh.

The US and Britain on Wednesday issued a new warning concerning travel to Saudi Arabia while the British Airways suspended flights to the kingdom.

Officials in the two countries attributed these measures to what they described intelligence information saying that 7 persons detained by the Saudi authorities last Tuesday over suspicion of having links to al-Qaida organization while planning to target western interests especially in the area of civil aviation in Saudi Arabia.