RIYADH, Aug 26 (AFP) - Saudi security forces have arrested a number of people who were trying to cross the kingdoms borders into neighboring Iraq, a newspaper said Thursday, quoting an interior ministry official.
The would-be infiltrators, who included Saudi nationals and foreigners, were arrested in the border region of Hafr al-Batin, 500 kilometers (310 miles) north of the capital Riyadh, ministry spokesman Brigadier Mansur al-Turki told Al-Yaum.
"(Turki) ruled out any connection between these people and the list of those wanted for security-related matters," Al-Yaum said, referring to Islamist militants suspected of carrying out terror attacks in Saudi Arabia.
The paper did not say when the would-be infiltrators were arrested or how many they were.
Washington and some Iraqi officials have maintained that foreign fighters, including Saudis, have been infiltrating Iraq to take part in attacks on US-led multinational forces and Iraqis working with them.
A number of Saudis have died fighting alongside Iraqis in the flashpoint Sunni Muslim city of Fallujah, west of Baghdad.